Director - Global Compensation
An overview of this role
As the Director, Global Compensation, you'll shape how GitLab attracts, motivates, and retains world-class talent through clear, equitable, and scalable compensation programs. You'll turn our business strategy and values into compensation frameworks that are competitive, consistent, and easy to understand for GitLab team members across roles, levels, and regions. You'll report to the VP of Total Rewards and partner closely with People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and senior business leaders to lead the full lifecycle of global compensation strategy, design, operations, analytics, and communication.
What you'll do
Own the end-to-end global compensation strategy for GitLab, aligning programs with our business priorities, financial goals, and values while supporting a high-performance culture.
Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing refinement of global compensation programs, including base salary structure, bonus and other short-term incentive plans, and long-term incentive (equity) programs.
Design, document, and maintain scalable compensation frameworks and job architecture, including global ranges, career levels, progression paths, and market-based pay practices that support attraction, retention, and internal mobility.
Develop and run governance for compensation programs, including policies and guidelines, annual focal merit and promotion review cycles, semi-annual bonus programs, and quarterly equity grant planning, with a focus on simplification, equity, and scale.
Build and manage analytics and reporting on compensation programs. Use market data, internal pay and performance trends, and scenario modeling to recommend data-driven changes to ranges, budgets, and program design.
Partner with Finance, Legal, People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and senior business leaders to align compensation decisions with budgeting and forecasting, ensure compliance, and support consistent, fair decision making across regions.
Collaborate on executive compensation and Compensation Committee support, providing analysis, recommendations, and materials that connect compensation decisions to GitLab's strategy and performance.
Lead compensation communication and enablement, including clear documentation, education for leaders and People team members, and guidance for managers so GitLab team members understand the full value and structure of their compensation.
What you'll bring
Extensive experience designing, operating, and improving global compensation programs, including base salary structures, short-term incentives (bonuses), and long-term incentives (equity), across a variety of functions and levels.
Background advising executive leaders on compensation strategy, trade-offs, and policy, with a focus on attracting, motivating, and retaining talent while maintaining internal equity, market competitiveness, and cost discipline.
Experience building and scaling compensation frameworks, job architecture, and global pay ranges through periods of growth, organizational change, and evolving business strategies in complex, multi-region environments.
Strong analytical and financial modeling skills, including interpreting market data, compensation survey results, and internal performance outcomes to run scenario and sensitivity analyses and turn insights into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders.
Attention to detail and accuracy when working with complex compensation data, budgeting models, focal and promotion cycles, and equity planning, with an emphasis on governance, consistency, and compliance.
Clear and practical communication skills, with the ability to explain compensation philosophy, program design, and decision rationales to both technical and non-technical audiences and build understanding and trust in compensation programs.
Alignment with GitLab's values, including integrity, confidentiality in all compensation matters, transparency, and collaborative decision-making across People, Finance, and business leadership teams.
Familiarity with compensation, HR, and analytics tools (for example, Workday and market pricing platforms) and productivity tools such as Google Workspace, with openness to applying transferable skills from related total rewards or people operations roles.
About the team
The Total Rewards team at GitLab designs, manages, and improves global compensation programs for all GitLab team members. We are a small, highly collaborative, all-remote team that partners closely with People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and business leaders across regions. Together we align job architecture, global pay ranges, bonus and equity programs, and annual merit and promotion cycles with GitLab's broader business and talent strategy. We focus on building scalable, data-driven, and transparent compensation structures that support growth, reinforce GitLab's values, and stay equitable and compliant as the business evolves.
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
$167,000—$313,000 USD
About the job
Apply for this position
Director - Global Compensation
An overview of this role
As the Director, Global Compensation, you'll shape how GitLab attracts, motivates, and retains world-class talent through clear, equitable, and scalable compensation programs. You'll turn our business strategy and values into compensation frameworks that are competitive, consistent, and easy to understand for GitLab team members across roles, levels, and regions. You'll report to the VP of Total Rewards and partner closely with People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and senior business leaders to lead the full lifecycle of global compensation strategy, design, operations, analytics, and communication.
What you'll do
Own the end-to-end global compensation strategy for GitLab, aligning programs with our business priorities, financial goals, and values while supporting a high-performance culture.
Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing refinement of global compensation programs, including base salary structure, bonus and other short-term incentive plans, and long-term incentive (equity) programs.
Design, document, and maintain scalable compensation frameworks and job architecture, including global ranges, career levels, progression paths, and market-based pay practices that support attraction, retention, and internal mobility.
Develop and run governance for compensation programs, including policies and guidelines, annual focal merit and promotion review cycles, semi-annual bonus programs, and quarterly equity grant planning, with a focus on simplification, equity, and scale.
Build and manage analytics and reporting on compensation programs. Use market data, internal pay and performance trends, and scenario modeling to recommend data-driven changes to ranges, budgets, and program design.
Partner with Finance, Legal, People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and senior business leaders to align compensation decisions with budgeting and forecasting, ensure compliance, and support consistent, fair decision making across regions.
Collaborate on executive compensation and Compensation Committee support, providing analysis, recommendations, and materials that connect compensation decisions to GitLab's strategy and performance.
Lead compensation communication and enablement, including clear documentation, education for leaders and People team members, and guidance for managers so GitLab team members understand the full value and structure of their compensation.
What you'll bring
Extensive experience designing, operating, and improving global compensation programs, including base salary structures, short-term incentives (bonuses), and long-term incentives (equity), across a variety of functions and levels.
Background advising executive leaders on compensation strategy, trade-offs, and policy, with a focus on attracting, motivating, and retaining talent while maintaining internal equity, market competitiveness, and cost discipline.
Experience building and scaling compensation frameworks, job architecture, and global pay ranges through periods of growth, organizational change, and evolving business strategies in complex, multi-region environments.
Strong analytical and financial modeling skills, including interpreting market data, compensation survey results, and internal performance outcomes to run scenario and sensitivity analyses and turn insights into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders.
Attention to detail and accuracy when working with complex compensation data, budgeting models, focal and promotion cycles, and equity planning, with an emphasis on governance, consistency, and compliance.
Clear and practical communication skills, with the ability to explain compensation philosophy, program design, and decision rationales to both technical and non-technical audiences and build understanding and trust in compensation programs.
Alignment with GitLab's values, including integrity, confidentiality in all compensation matters, transparency, and collaborative decision-making across People, Finance, and business leadership teams.
Familiarity with compensation, HR, and analytics tools (for example, Workday and market pricing platforms) and productivity tools such as Google Workspace, with openness to applying transferable skills from related total rewards or people operations roles.
About the team
The Total Rewards team at GitLab designs, manages, and improves global compensation programs for all GitLab team members. We are a small, highly collaborative, all-remote team that partners closely with People Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Legal, and business leaders across regions. Together we align job architecture, global pay ranges, bonus and equity programs, and annual merit and promotion cycles with GitLab's broader business and talent strategy. We focus on building scalable, data-driven, and transparent compensation structures that support growth, reinforce GitLab's values, and stay equitable and compliant as the business evolves.
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
$167,000—$313,000 USD