Senior People Business Partner, Engineering - GitLab

About the Role

GitLab is looking for a Senior People Business Partner, Engineering to serve as a strategic partner to senior Engineering leaders (including VPs and Senior Directors). In this role, you will help them navigate organizational change, mature their teams, and build a healthy, high-performance culture.

You will focus on Engineering-specific challenges such as evolving job architecture and leveling, supporting executive leadership transitions, and driving consistency in developing, calibrating, and growing Engineering talent across distributed teams.

What You'll Do

• Partner with senior Engineering leaders, including VPs and Senior Directors, to translate business challenges into clear people and organizational priorities.
• Drive and support job architecture changes within Engineering, including introducing new levels and defining consistent career paths.
• Lead and facilitate key Engineering people processes, such as performance calibrations, in close partnership with the PBP team and Talent Management.
• Advise and coach leaders on organizational design, change management, and navigating global distributed teams (including regional considerations in EMEA).
• Use data and qualitative feedback to identify organizational trends and recommend actions that improve effectiveness, engagement, and performance.
• Support the planning and execution of Engineering offsites and leadership forums.
• Collaborate asynchronously with fellow PBPs, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and other cross-functional People teams.

What You'll Bring

• Proven experience as a People Business Partner (or similar role) supporting Engineering or technical organizations in a fast-paced tech environment.
• Demonstrated track record of partnering with and influencing senior leadership (Senior Directors and VPs) using data-informed guidance.
• Experience supporting globally distributed teams across multiple regions and time zones, including familiarity with regional employment nuances (such as EMEA).
• Demonstrated ability to guide organizations through transformation, such as job architecture updates, leadership transitions, and team restructuring.
• Strong expertise balancing strategic initiatives (organizational design, leadership development) with hands-on execution of core People programs.
• Exceptional coaching, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to operate effectively in an asynchronous, remote environment.

Working Environment & Travel

• Remote Setup: Requires significant working-hours overlap with US Central or East Coast time zones to support global operations.
• Travel: Expect quarterly travel for Engineering and PBP offsites and collaborative planning forums.