Principal Executive Recruiter

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 a Principal Executive Recruiter at GitLab, you’ll lead VP-level and other senior leadership searches across Sales, People, Legal, Finance, and other corporate teams. You’ll partner directly with senior executives to identify, engage, assess, and hire leaders, bringing market intelligence and a research-driven approach to complex, often confidential searches. Alongside owning searches end to end, you’ll help shape the strategies, frameworks, and practices that strengthen executive recruiting at GitLab, balancing search rigor with the agility of a fast-moving technology organization.

What you’ll do

Lead VP-level and other senior leadership searches end to end, from search strategy and market mapping through assessment, selection, and closing. Advise C-suite executives and senior business leaders on hiring decisions, challenge assumptions, and navigate complex stakeholder dynamics. Develop talent strategies using market mapping, competitive intelligence, creative sourcing, and recruiting data to guide each search. Build relationships with passive executive talent, understand their motivations, and connect opportunities to GitLab’s mission and business priorities. Partner with hiring leaders to define success profiles, assess executive capabilities and business impact, and guide evidence-based hiring decisions. Own executive candidate relationships and deliver a high-touch experience through compensation discussions, competing opportunities, and negotiations. Manage multiple confidential, business-critical searches with discretion, balancing urgency, quality, stakeholder alignment, and candidate experience. Collaborate with Talent Acquisition leadership and executive recruiting peers to improve search frameworks, assessment practices, reporting, and tools.

What you’ll bring

Experience independently leading VP-level and senior executive searches through successful hires in an executive search firm, an in-house executive recruiting function, or both. Executive recruiting experience across functions such as Sales, People, Legal, Finance, or other corporate teams, with the business acumen and curiosity to learn new domains. The ability to build trusted relationships with C-suite executives, influence senior stakeholders, and provide candid, evidence-based guidance on hiring decisions. Skills in talent research, market mapping, creative sourcing, leadership assessment, and engaging and closing passive executive talent. Business judgment, communication, and negotiation skills to navigate sensitive searches, complex compensa...