Director, Global People Operations & Compliance

Location: Remote, Canada; Remote, United States 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 You will lead the Global People Operations and Compliance team, delivering consistent, scalable, tech-enabled experiences to a global workforce at every stage of the team member lifecycle. You are a strategic, hands-on leader who executes well and influences across functions. You will set the multi-year vision for innovation, AI, and team capability, and you will turn it into results. What You'll Do Define and deliver a multi-year People Operations and Compliance roadmap, tied to business priorities, that uses AI and emerging technologies to elevate the team member experience. Build and lead a program to standardize, simplify, and automate manual workflows across the team member lifecycle (e.g. onboarding, data management, offboarding, etc) with clear ownership, documented standards, and measurable service levels. Identify inefficiencies across the People Operations team and the broader People team, and drive the fix through to adoption. Establish operating models, SLAs, and metrics to improve quality and efficiency Partner with various key stakeholders including but not limited to: Compensation, Legal, Procurement, People Technology, Talent Management & Development, Talent Acquisition, People Business Partners, Payroll, IT, Internal Audit to drive strategic priorities Lead the People Operations team in managing our case management platform from intake to resolution, setting service standards, improving response times, and designing scalable escalation paths Lead and develop a high-performing global team by building skills in process design, data fluency, automation, and AI-enabled ways of working, backed by clear career paths, succession plans, and a culture of continuous improvement and accountability Oversee global mobility processes, serving as the escalation point for complex relocation matters and partnering with Legal to monitor regulations, ensure compliance, and keep programs effective Accountable for global employment compliance and risk exposure, setting strategy, owning audit outcomes, and managing the Senior Compliance Analyst who delivers day-to-day execution Own administration for our PEO partners and lead the people operations setup for new entities and global expansion including collaboration on the global employment strategy What You'll Bring Core Experience 10+ years of HR/People Operations experience, including 5+ years experience leading global teams Proven track record building and scaling people operations functions in complex, multi-regional global organizations Working knowledge of global employment compliance, including direct experience with works councils or employee representative bodies Ability to move between vision and a keen focus for detail, from presenting a roadmap to executives to debugging a broken process with the team Strong judgment, stakeholder management, and communication skills, with comfort making decisions in ambiguity Experience leveraging AI and automation to improve and streamline operations Strong attention to detail with a focus on data accuracy Preferred Experience Experience in a high-growth global technology or SaaS company Experience working in public company preferred Experience transforming People Operations at scale across company stages Technology and Process Expertise Workday: experience optimizing Workday as the core employee process platform, including data governance, self-service, consolidation, standardization, and workflow optimization GreenHouse: experience with ATS infrastructure, including equity data and familiarity with integrations between ATS and HRIS Case management: experience implementing HR case management tools including workflow automation, knowledge management, Workday integration, and service catalog management 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 $152,800 — $259,200 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 .