Director, Sales Incentive Compensation

GitLab is an open-core software company that develops the most comprehensive AI-powered DevSecOps Platform, used by more than 100,000 organizations. Our mission is to enable everyone to contribute to and co-create the software that powers our world. When everyone can contribute, consumers become contributors, significantly accelerating human progress. Our platform unites teams and organizations, breaking down barriers and redefining what's possible in software development. Thanks to products like Duo Enterprise and Duo Agent Platform, customers get AI benefits at every stage of the SDLC. 

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.

As Director of Sales Incentive Compensation, you will own the strategic design, implementation, and operational management of all incentive compensation programs across the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) organization. This includes Sales, Customer Success, Professional Services, Channel/Partnerships, and Revenue Operations roles. You will serve as the subject matter expert on compensation philosophy and practices, partnering with executive leadership to design plans that drive strategic behaviors, optimize sales productivity, and support GitLab's revenue growth objectives while maintaining cost efficiency and market competitiveness.

This role requires a unique combination of strategic thinking, analytical rigor, operational excellence, and change management expertise. You will lead a team responsible for all aspects of the compensation lifecycle—from annual plan design through monthly commission processing—ensuring accuracy, compliance, and alignment with business goals.

What you'll do

Strategic Compensation Design & Planning

• Own the end-to-end compensation strategy for all CRO organization roles including Account Executives, Solutions Architects, Customer Success Managers, Professional Services, Channel/Partner roles, and Revenue Operations
• Lead annual compensation plan development in partnership with CRO, Sales Leadership, Customer Success, and Finance; translate business objectives into effective incentive structures
• Design role-specific compensation frameworks including base/variable splits, quota-to-OTE ratios, accelerators, decelerators, thresholds, and performance tiers aligned to role expectations and market standards
• Develop compensation governance frameworks including plan approval workflows, exception handling, change management protocols, and ongoing plan maintenance processes
• Model compensation scenarios to optimize the balance between motivational impact, cost efficiency, competitive positioning, and predictability; conduct sensitivity analysis on various business outcomes
• Partner with People/Total Rewards to ensure CRO compensation programs align with GitLab's overall compensation philosophy, internal equity principles, and total rewards strategy
• Conduct market benchmarking and competitive analysis to ensure compensation packages attract and retain top talent while maintaining fiscal discipline
• Design incentive mechanisms that drive strategic behaviors including new logo acquisition, expansion, consumption growth, multi-year deals, product mix, and customer retention
• Create SPIFs, contests, and accelerator programs to address short-term business priorities and accelerate specific outcomes (pipeline generation, deal velocity, strategic initiatives)

Analytics & Insights

• Develop compensation analytics frameworks to track plan effectiveness, cost efficiency, and business impact
• Analyze payout distributions and attainment curves to ensure plans drive desired bell curve distribution and identify outliers requiring intervention
• Track key compensation metrics including average earnings, payout ratios, cost-per-dollar-sold, plan leverage, and quota attainment dist