Corporate Development Director

GitLab is the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps. GitLab enables organizations to increase developer productivity, improve operational efficiency, reduce security and compliance risk, and accelerate digital transformation. More than 50 million registered users and more than 50% of the Fortune 100* trust GitLab to ship better, more secure software faster. The same principles built into our products are reflected in how our team works: we embrace AI as a core productivity multiplier, with all team members expected to incorporate AI into their daily workflows to drive efficiency, innovation, and impact. GitLab is where careers accelerate, innovation flourishes, and every voice is valued. Our high-performance culture is driven by our values and continuous knowledge exchange, enabling our team members to reach their full potential while collaborating with industry leaders to solve complex problems. Co-create the future with us as we build technology that transforms how the world develops software. * Fortune 500® is a registered trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, used under license. Claim based on GitLab data. Fortune 100 refers to the top 20% ranked companies in the 2025 Fortune 500 list, published in June 2025. Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse products or services of GitLab. An overview of this role As the Corporate Development Director, you'll help influence how GitLab invests to win: what we build, what we buy, where we partner, and what we should not pursue. This role sits within the Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships team, reporting to the VP, Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships. This role straddles strategy and M&A engagements. You'll lead research that frames GitLab's options: mapping the markets in and around our AI-powered DevSecOps platform, testing where we have a right to win, and turning that into clear recommendations for the executive team. When the answer is to acquire, you'll drive the deal process end to end, from outreach through close and integration. Success here is not measured by deal count. It looks like sharper strategic choices: a well-reasoned point of view on our priority markets, investment theses that product and executive leaders rely on, acquisitions that speed up the roadmap when buying is the right answer, and an educated no when it isn't. You'll own the wider market perspective rather than individual product categories, and work with the team's Analyst on the research behind it. What you'll do Strategy and research • Own the wider market view. Research the broader market GitLab competes in, beyond specific product categories: competitive dynamics, AI-native entrants, technology shifts and where value is moving. Collaborate with the team's Analyst on the research and turn the findings into a clear point of view on where GitLab should play. • Build an investment thesis for each focus area. Work with Product and Engineering leaders to define the problems worth solving, the capabilities GitLab needs, and what it would cost in time and money to get there on our own. • Own the competitive and landscape view. Maintain market maps and a current read on GitLab's competitors: their strategy, product direction, positioning, pricing, and M&A and funding activity. Produce competitor analyses that show where we lead, where we're exposed and how rivals are likely to move. Flag shifts by competitors, hyperscalers and AI labs that change our options, and bring the implications to Product and the executive team. • Define where GitLab should not play. Identify adjacencies that dilute focus and markets where the economics or competition work against us. Make the case for a no with the same rigor as a yes. Build, buy or p