Principal Product Marketing Manager, Competitive

An overview of this role

As Principal Product Marketing Manager, Competitive, you own GitLab's competitive point of view on AI and agentic software development and serve as the authority on our market differentiation. You consult regularly with sales, product teams, investor relations, industry analysts, and leadership on competitive strategy and roadmap implications while publishing external thought leadership.

With deep experience in the modern SDLC and agentic tooling, you collaborate with developer advocacy and conduct primary market analysis to drive positioning, field assets, competitive plays, and partnership strategy.

In your first year, you will establish a defensible AI and agentic narrative and an agile operating rhythm that turns market signals into action.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Product & Solutions Marketing, you will operate with executive visibility and autonomy, measuring success by win rates, competitive displacements, and market leadership in the AI and agentic category.

Some examples of projects:

• Define GitLab's differentiated position against AI-native entrants competing for the SDLC
• Publish thought leadership that shapes how the market frames agentic development
• Assess new entrants and share relevant market-shaping insights across the company
• Shape partnership strategy based on competitive footing
• Arm executives with competitive narrative for customer and board conversations

What you'll do

• Own GitLab's competitive positioning for AI and agentic software development end to end, from primary landscape analysis through understanding of competitive tools and developer-level perceptions. And turn that into the narrative the field, analysts, and executives all use
• Own the operating rhythm that converts competitive signal into a position and action within days
• Give Product an opinionated read on what competitive movement means for roadmap sequencing, bringing evidence and a recommendation rather than a summary of what competitors shipped
• Build the compete assets, plays, and objection handling the field uses against named competitors, define the sales motion that moves win rate, then measure whether it did
• Partner with Growth and Campaigns on competitor displacement campaigns, accountable for their contribution to pipeline
• Brief Investor Relations, industry analysts, sales, and executive leadership with the same rigor, owning the competitive-landscape narrative with analysts and PMMs 
• Raise the competitive bar across the PMM team
• Ability to travel if needed and comply with the company's travel policy

What you'll bring

• Proven impact at the organizational and industry level
• Deep domain expertise in SDLC, DevSecOps, and agentic software development to engage technical buyers and executive audiences
• Track record of driving competitive positioning that delivers measurable win-rate impact
• Fluency in the AI/agentic coding landscape and competitor exposure areas
• Established thought leadership with industry recognition (speaking, publications, advisory roles)
• Experience briefing executives, investor relations, and industry analysts
• Ability to form and articulate a clear point of view quickly despite incomplete information
• Strong communication skills to translate complex technical concepts into clear narratives
• Practical experience using AI tools within your workflow
• Self-directed, data-driven mindset using win/loss insights to guide strategy

About the team

Product & Technical Marketing at GitLab is the engine behind how GitLab positions, launches, documents, and evangelizes its value proposition for enterprises worldwide. We connect GitLab's product capabilities to customers and prospects across technical personas and executive buyers, and we partner closely with Product Management, Product Design, Growth Marketing, Comms and Social, Field Enablement, Sales, and the broader go-to-market organization so what we build lands in market with clarity, impact, and relevance.