Legal Counsel (m/w/d)

Gitlab

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 Legal Counsel, Commercial, you’ll help GitLab move faster by making commercial contracting clear, consistent, and scalable. Reporting to the Director, Legal, Commercial, you’ll partner with internal stakeholders and external counterparties to negotiate and review complex agreements, assess legal risk, and translate regional legal requirements into practical templates, policies, and processes. You’ll be a trusted advisor to teams across GitLab, helping them reach business goals while protecting GitLab’s interests, and you’ll contribute to the growth of the commercial legal function through mentorship, playbooks, and training. In your first year, you’ll take ownership of strategic contracting workstreams, strengthen how we manage risk in high-priority transactions (including technology and artificial intelligence-related agreements), and improve the systems and documentation that support efficient deal execution. This role also supports GitLab’s Public Sector go-to-market strategy. You’ll advise on federal, state, local, and education (SLED) transactions, applying fluency in government procurement frameworks, compliance requirements, and data handling obligations to help GitLab close and structure public sector deals efficiently and in compliance with applicable law. WHAT YOU’LL DO * Negotiate, draft, and review complex commercial and technology agreements, including partnership, services, consulting, marketing, licensing, data privacy, and artificial intelligence related contracts. * Independently manage strategic and high-priority matters tied to large-value and material transactions, partnering directly with internal stakeholders and external parties. * Advise Sales and cross-functional GitLab teams on contract structure, risk allocation, and practical negotiation strategies that support business goals while protecting GitLab’s interests. * Perform risk analysis on contractual documents and recommend mitigation options, including escalation paths and alternative terms. * Benchmark, develop, and maintain contract templates, playbooks, policies, and supporting documentation, incorporating regional legal requirements and feedback from stakeholders. * Monitor legal and regulatory changes, assess impact on GitLab’s contracting practices, and propose clear, actionable updates to templates and processes. * Create and deliver training for contract managers and Sales team members to improve contracting consistency and day-to-day decision-making. * Support the Public Sector sales team on federal, SLED, and government-adjacent transactions, including negotiation of agreements subject to FAR/DFARS requirements, GSA Schedule terms, and agency-specific flow-down clauses. * Advise on FedRAMP-related contracting obligations, including data sovereignty commitments, government-specific data handling requirements, and authorized use restrictions applicable to GitLab’s compliant product offerings. * Draft and maintain public sector contract templates, playbooks, and order form language that address government procurement requirements, including FedRAMP authorization conditions, SLED-specific terms, and applicable regulatory flow-downs. * Partner with Sales, Security, and Compliance teams to assess and communicate the contractual implications of government certification and authorization programs, and ensure contract terms accurately reflect GitLab’s authorized configurations and service boundaries. WHAT YOU’LL BRING * J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one U.S. state. * Experience at a major law firm and/or in-house legal department (focus on commercial and technology transactions preferred). * Experience negotiating and drafting complex commercial and technology agreements, including software, SaaS, services, consulting, marketing, licensing, partnerships, data privacy, and artificial intelligence-related terms. * Ability to independently manage high volume, strategic and high-priority matters and drive agreements to closure with internal stakeholders and external partners. * Knowledge of regional legal requirements and comfort partnering with outside counsel to inform contract terms, templates, and policy enforcement. * Practical risk-spotting and risk mitigation skills, with the ability to provide clear, business-focused guidance that protects GitLab’s interests. * Experience improving or building templates, playbooks, processes, and documentation to support consistent contracting outcomes across teams. * Strong communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to influence and serve as a trusted advisor to sales and cross-functional leadership. * Ability to create and deliver training for sales team members. * Comfort working in a remote, globally distributed environment across time zones, with a willingness to learn GitLab and its products (including using GitLab in your work). * Working knowledge of federal government procurement frameworks, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), with experience applying or negotiating flow-down clauses in commercial technology contracts. * Familiarity with GSA Schedule contracting mechanics, including ordering procedures, pricing requirements, and compliance obligations applicable to software and SaaS vendors. * Understanding of SLED procurement rules and the ways in which state, local, and education contracts differ structurally and legally from standard commercial agreements. * Experience advising on or negotiating FedRAMP-related contractual obligations, including authorized use restrictions, data handling and sovereignty commitments, and agency-specific security requirements. * Comfort with data sovereignty concepts as applied in government contracting contexts, including restrictions on data residency, processing, and access applicable to cloud services sold to government customers. ABOUT THE TEAM The Commercial Legal team partners with the Sales organization and other cross-functional stakeholders across GitLab to support how we sell and deliver our products and services. You’ll join our globally distributed team that works asynchronously and closely with internal clients, customers, and outside counsel to review, draft, and negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements, improve templates and playbooks, and provide practical guidance that helps teams move quickly while managing risk. Our focus includes scaling consistent contracting processes across regions, keeping pace with evolving legal requirements (including data privacy and artificial intelligence-related terms), and strengthening enablement through clear documentation and training. For more on how we work, see the Team Handbook Page. HOW GITLAB WILL SUPPORT YOU * Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being * Flexible Paid Time Off  * Team Member Resource Groups * Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan * Growth and Development Fund * Parental leave  * Home office support Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application. The base salary range for this role’s listed level is currently for residents of the United States only. This range is intended to reflect the role's base salary rate in locations throughout the US. Grade level and salary ranges are determined through interviews and a review of education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities of the applicant, equity with other team members, alignment with market data, and geographic location. The base salary range does not include any bonuses, equity, or benefits. See more information on our benefits and equity. Sales roles are also eligible for incentive pay targeted at up to 100% of the offered base salary. United States Salary Range $115,000—$162,000 USD HOW GITLAB SUPPORTS FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES * Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being * Flexible Paid Time Off  * Team Member Resource Groups * Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan * Growth and Development Fund * Parental Leave  Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Country Hiring Guidelines: GitLab hires new team members in countries around the world. All of our roles are remote, however some roles may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements. Our Talent Acquisition team can help answer any questions about location after starting the recruiting process.   Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us. GitLab is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. GitLab’s policies and practices relating to recruitment, employment, career development and advancement, promotion, and retirement are based solely on merit, regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information (including family medical history), discharge status from the military, protected veteran status (which includes disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans), or any other basis protected by law. GitLab will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. See also GitLab’s EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know during the recruiting process.

Gitlab

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 Senior Commercial Counsel in APJ, you’ll help GitLab grow across Asia-Pacific and Japan by bringing legal clarity to complex commercial deals. Reporting to the Director, Legal, Commercial, you’ll work closely with regional Sales and cross-functional partners to negotiate sophisticated agreements, manage cross-border legal questions, and turn varied local requirements into practical deal strategies. This is a high-impact role for someone who wants to shape how GitLab transacts across a diverse region while protecting the business and helping teams move with confidence. In your first year, you’ll take ownership of key APJ contracting workstreams, strengthen how we handle region-specific legal risk, and improve the templates and processes that support consistent deal execution across APJ. You’ll also help guide work involving data privacy and AI-related terms across multiple jurisdictions, including Japan. WHAT YOU’LL DO * Negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements across APJ markets, including SaaS, software, partnership, services, consulting, marketing, licensing, data privacy, and AI-related contracts. * Manage strategic and high-priority transactions across multiple jurisdictions, balancing legal risk with business needs. * Partner with regional Sales leadership, internal stakeholders, and external counterparties to move deals forward with clear legal guidance. * Navigate country-specific contracting norms, approval paths, and drafting requirements across APJ markets, including Japan. * Advise on cross-border transaction structures and coordinate with outside counsel when local legal support is needed. * Assess contractual risk and provide practical recommendations, including escalation paths and alternative terms. * Develop and maintain APJ-focused templates, playbooks, policies, and supporting documentation to improve consistency in contracting. * Train contract managers and regional Sales team members on contracting practices, legal developments, and day-to-day decision-making across the region. WHAT YOU’LL BRING * Qualified to practice law through a J.D. or equivalent legal credential, with active bar membership or a license in a relevant jurisdiction. * Experienced in commercial and technology transactions across APJ markets within a law firm, in-house legal team, or both. * Skilled at negotiating complex agreements across multiple APJ jurisdictions, with familiarity with Japan contracting practices. * Comfortable handling cross-border transactions that involve different legal systems and coordination with outside counsel. * Able to identify legal risk, explain tradeoffs clearly, and provide business-focused guidance in varied regulatory environments. * Experienced in improving or creating contract templates, playbooks, and processes that support consistent execution across teams and markets. * Effective at building trusted relationships with Sales and cross-functional partners in a remote, globally distributed environment. * Open to bringing transferable experience and language skills relevant to APJ markets; working proficiency in an APJ language such as Japanese is helpful but not required. ABOUT THE TEAM The Commercial Legal team supports GitLab’s go-to-market work by helping teams structure, negotiate, and close contracts in a way that protects the business and supports durable growth. In this role, you’ll work with regional and cross-functional partners in an all-remote environment, collaborating asynchronously across time zones on complex commercial issues that often span multiple jurisdictions. The team is focused on improving consistency in contracting, managing evolving legal risk, and building practical guidance that helps GitLab operate effectively across diverse markets, including the APJ region. Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application. HOW GITLAB SUPPORTS FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES * Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being * Flexible Paid Time Off  * Team Member Resource Groups * Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan * Growth and Development Fund * Parental Leave  Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Country Hiring Guidelines: GitLab hires new team members in countries around the world. All of our roles are remote, however some roles may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements. Our Talent Acquisition team can help answer any questions about location after starting the recruiting process.   Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us. GitLab is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. GitLab’s policies and practices relating to recruitment, employment, career development and advancement, promotion, and retirement are based solely on merit, regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information (including family medical history), discharge status from the military, protected veteran status (which includes disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans), or any other basis protected by law. GitLab will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. See also GitLab’s EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know during the recruiting process.

Gitlab

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 the role As Vice President, Legal Commercial, you'll own the vision, strategy, and execution of GitLab's global commercial legal function at the most senior level below the CLO. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, you'll be a key member of the Legal leadership team and a trusted executive partner to the CRO, CFO, and broader GTM organization. You'll set the tone for how commercial legal operates as a strategic business enabler, accountable for the people, programs, and infrastructure that allow GitLab to transact at scale, with speed and integrity, across every market we operate in. This role spans commercial contracting, strategic partnerships, AI governance, FedRAMP, and Public Sector contracting and procurement legal, leading a globally distributed team of 15–20 legal professionals, including managers organized by geography and subject matter expertise. This is a role for a seasoned legal leader who has already built something, who knows what great looks like at scale, and who is ready to shape the commercial legal function for a company operating at the intersection of DevSecOps, AI, and enterprise SaaS. What You’ll Do * Define and execute the long-term strategy for GitLab's global commercial legal function, aligning legal priorities with company-wide revenue growth, market expansion, and product evolution * Serve as the primary legal executive partner to the CRO, CFO, and GTM leadership, advising on commercial strategy, enterprise deal structures, pricing and packaging risk, and AI-related contracting at the highest levels of complexity and materiality * Build, lead, and develop a world-class team of commercial attorneys, contract managers, and legal ops professionals across multiple regions, fostering a high-performance, async-first culture with managers as direct reports organized by geography and subject matter expertise * Set enterprise-wide standards for commercial contracting, including risk tiering, escalation frameworks, template governance, and playbook strategy that scale consistently across regions and deal types * Benchmark AI-specific contractual terms across the enterprise SaaS market to ensure GitLab's standard positions reflect current market practice; lead GitLab's negotiating posture on AI deal issues, including data usage, model training, output ownership, liability allocation, and transparency obligations * Work in sync with the CLO Chief of Staff on the continuous improvement and optimization of GitLab's CLM system with full integration across the Quote-to-Cash process, and champion AI tools and legal operations capabilities to drive contracting efficiency, pipeline visibility, and data-driven decision-making * Lead GitLab's most significant strategic partnerships, including hyperscaler relationships, structuring and negotiating complex co-sell, reseller, and marketplace agreements in coordination with GitLab Ecosystems and Strategy Teams * Oversee AI governance contracting across customer, partner, and supplier agreements, and translate evolving global AI regulations, including the EU AI Act and emerging U.S. frameworks, into practical contracting positions and contribute to policy guidance in concert with the Sr. Dir Public Policy * Lead legal support for GitLab's facility clearance requirements and public sector commercial contracting, including federal and SLED agreements, FAR/DFARS compliance, and government contract vehicle requirements * Lead the procurement legal function covering global vendor contracting, inbound SaaS, professional services, and infrastructure agreements, partnering with Finance, Security, and Privacy on vendor risk frameworks * Serve as a senior voice on cross-functional initiatives involving Legal, Finance, Product, Revenue Operations, and Procurement, influencing decisions that shape how GitLab goes to market globally What You’ll Bring * 15+ years of combined law firm and in-house experience, with substantial tenure in a senior commercial legal leadership role at a global SaaS or enterprise technology company * J.D. or U.S. law degree equivalent with bar admission in good standing in at least one U.S. state * 5+ years leading and scaling teams of attorneys and contract managers, with a track record of developing legal talent and building high-functioning commercial legal organizations with managers as direct reports * Hands-on experience owning or leading a CLM implementation or expansion, with working knowledge of Quote-to-Cash process integration across Sales, Finance, and Revenue Operations * Demonstrated fluency in AI governance and product legal issues, including drafting or negotiating AI-specific contractual terms and advising on AI regulatory requirements; proven track record deploying AI-powered legal workflows at the team level, not just awareness of the tools * Deep expertise in enterprise SaaS contracting, strategic partnerships, data privacy, and complex partner, channel, and public sector agreements, including familiarity with FedRAMP, FAR/DFARS, or equivalent frameworks * Visionary but execution-oriented: someone who operates effectively at the strategy level without losing sight of the operational details that make a legal function run * A genuine champion for AI-enabled legal work, with hands-on experience driving adoption of tools and workflows that make teams faster and smarter * Exceptional executive presence and communication skills, with a proven ability to influence at the C-suite level and represent legal as a business growth partner * Demonstrated ability to lead geographically distributed teams in a fully remote, asynchronous environment About the Team The Commercial Legal team partners with the Sales organization and other cross-functional stakeholders across GitLab to support how we sell and deliver our products and services. You’ll join our globally distributed team that works asynchronously and closely with internal clients, customers, and outside counsel to review, draft, and negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements, improve templates and playbooks, and provide practical guidance that helps teams move quickly while managing risk. Our focus includes scaling consistent contracting processes across regions, keeping pace with evolving legal requirements, including data privacy and artificial intelligence-related terms, and strengthening enablement through clear documentation and training. HOW GITLAB SUPPORTS FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES * Benefits to support your health, finances, and well-being * Flexible Paid Time Off  * Team Member Resource Groups * Equity Compensation & Employee Stock Purchase Plan * Growth and Development Fund * Parental Leave  Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Country Hiring Guidelines: GitLab hires new team members in countries around the world. All of our roles are remote, however some roles may carry specific location-based eligibility requirements. Our Talent Acquisition team can help answer any questions about location after starting the recruiting process.   Privacy Policy: Please review our Recruitment Privacy Policy. Your privacy is important to us. GitLab is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. GitLab’s policies and practices relating to recruitment, employment, career development and advancement, promotion, and retirement are based solely on merit, regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, lactation, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression), national origin, age, citizenship, marital status, mental or physical disability, genetic information (including family medical history), discharge status from the military, protected veteran status (which includes disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and Armed Forces service medal veterans), or any other basis protected by law. GitLab will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. See also GitLab’s EEO Policy and EEO is the Law. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know during the recruiting process.