Manager, Solutions Architecture

Overview of the Role

As the Manager, Solutions Architecture - UK/I (Pre-Sales) at GitLab, you'll manage a distributed team of Solutions Architects working with customers across the UK and Ireland, with scope to grow into additional countries within the region over time, such as Sweden and the Netherlands. In this player-coach role, you'll guide technical strategy across complex sales motions while also stepping directly into high-impact opportunities to help your team secure technical wins and build customer confidence in GitLab's platform approach. At GitLab, we work at the intersection of technical sales strategy, team development, and operational scale, and you'll help translate customer requirements into clear business outcomes.

You'll partner closely with regional go-to-market counterparts and cross-functional teams including Sales, Channel, Marketing, Sales Enablement, Product Management, and the global Solutions Architecture team. In our all-remote environment, you'll help shape how we grow the Solutions Architecture organization across UK/I by building strong operating rhythms, strengthening executive relationships, and creating the conditions for your team to do their best work. This role suits someone who combines technical depth, strong judgment, and a hands-on approach to winning business and scaling teams.

Some of the types of projects you'll work on:

• Running technical evaluations, executive workshops, demos, and proof-of-concept engagements that help customers map GitLab's DevSecOps platform to their business goals
• Building regional operating practices that improve team execution, strengthen cross-functional alignment, and scale the impact of Solutions Architects across UK/I

What you'll do

• Manage a team of intermediate and senior Solutions Architects across the UK and Ireland, with scope to expand into other countries within the region such as Sweden and the Netherlands as the team grows, setting clear direction and enabling high-quality execution across UK/I.
• Act as a player-coach by partnering directly on strategic opportunities, building executive relationships, and coaching your team through complex sales cycles to help secure the technical win.
• Guide regional strategy for technical evaluations, workshops, demonstrations, and proof-of-concept engagements, ensuring customer needs are translated into meaningful technical and business outcomes.
• Work cross-functionally with global Solutions Architecture, Sales, Channel, Marketing, Sales Enablement, and Product Management to align on priorities and execute against regional goals.
• Manage dotted-line relationships with Channel Solutions Architects and subject matter experts, driving accountability, collaboration, and alignment around common goals.
• Maintain strong operational discipline across workload planning, resource allocation, headcount planning, opportunity forecasting, and field execution.
• Define and track key performance indicators for the team, communicating progress, risks, and priorities clearly to your team, peers, and senior stakeholders.
• Hire, develop, and retain high-performing Solutions Architects while strengthening team capability, encouraging innovation, and building a scalable regional organization for future growth.

What you'll bring

• Experience managing technical teams in software or technology sales, pre-sales, consulting, or a related environment, with direct exposure to the UK and Ireland; exposure to other European markets such as Sweden or the Netherlands is a plus, given the scope for the role to grow into these countries over time.
• Strong background in solution architecture or comparable practical experience, with the ability to relate technical depth to customer business value and apply transferable experience from adjacent domains while learning GitLab and related tools.
• Proven success developing, mentoring, and scaling Solutions Architecture practices or similar customer-facing technical organizations in growing businesses.
• Strong communication and technical presentation skills, with the ability to engage effectively across cultures and with both technical and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated business acumen and sound judgment, balancing technical excellence with commercial outcomes and regional priorities.
• Track record of influencing cross-functional stakeholders and building strong partnerships across Sales, Channel, Marketing, Enablement, Product, and other senior stakeholder groups.
• Experience building inclusive, high-performing teams and creating clear, accountable operating practices in a distributed or remote environment.
• A genuine curiosity for AI, with a habit of weaving AI tools into your own day-to-day work to move faster and think sharper, and an eye for how that same mindset can be turned outward to deepen and elevate customer engagement.
• Ability and willingness to travel in line with business needs and GitLab's travel policy.
• We are currently only able to accept applicants based in the UK or Ireland

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About the team

The Solutions Architects team at GitLab is an established technical partner for the field, and we help customers and internal teams see the value of GitLab's platform approach during complex engagements. We combine technical credibility, customer confidence, and strong business partnership to enable success across the customer journey. Our work helps turn technical validation into confidence, momentum, and long-term value for prospects, customers, and partners.

We also play an important role in linking the field to the rest of GitLab. By working closely with go-to-market and product organizations, we surface customer feedback that informs conversations about product direction, enablement, services, and messaging. As a globally distributed team, we rely on clear communication, consistent ways of working, and thoughtful collaboration to help customers across multiple regions and functions.

We are focused on strengthening regional execution, building scalable practices for technical engagement, and helping GitLab grow through consistent, high-quality customer experiences. We're an important team for GitLab's continued growth because we combine team direction, technical expertise, and operational rigor in a way that helps the business scale while staying close to customer needs.

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.