What It’s Like to Build a Career at GitLab in a Fast-Changing DevSecOps World

What It’s Like to Grow Your Career at GitLab

True partnerships with customers, ample opportunities for career growth, and supportive and collaborative teammates — that’s what Brady O’Dowd thinks about when he considers some of the greatest aspects of building a career at GitLab. 

These three elements all come into view when he reflects on the last five years working at the DevSecOps platform.

“I’m not just selling software; I’m helping customers consolidate their toolchains, accelerate their development cycles, and adopt AI capabilities that genuinely move the needle for their business,” O’Dowd said. 

Fueled by this contagious energy to drive change, he and his colleagues get to sell a meaningful product that actually makes a difference for customers. Understanding this impact makes every conversation worthwhile, he said, and inspires him and his teammates to crush their goals — again and again. 

O’Dowd and some of his colleagues were able to celebrate their hard work recently when they attended the company’s Presidents Club trip to the Caribbean island of Anguilla. One of several milestones O’Dowd has reached during his time at GitLab, the trip encapsulates the essence of what it means to work at the organization. 

“Our leadership has built something special — it’s fun, inclusive and global,” he said.

O’Dowd was working as a sales development representative before landing his current position as a mid-market account executive. He said that his current role enables him to partner with the company’s customers to ensure they get the most out of the company’s platform, whether that’s by staying ahead of product updates or helping them explore new use cases as their needs change. 

Change defines the employee experience at GitLab, which O’Dowd has seen firsthand. He shared that it’s not just his own career evolution that keeps him energized; it’s the opportunity to drive change across the ever-evolving DevSecOps landscape. 

“Being at the forefront of this shift means I get to be part of helping customers navigate change and come out stronger on the other side,” O’Dowd said.

 

 

From SDR to Account Executive: How GitLab Supports Internal Career Growth

When O’Dowd joined the company as a SDR, his role sometimes felt transactional, as he focused on setting up meetings for AEs. But as he began working with larger, more strategic accounts, he reached a critical realization. 

“I genuinely love building deep relationships and helping customers scale their businesses,” O’Dowd said.

With encouragement to grow, he was able to experience different aspects of the business and have transparent conversations with managers and mentors. He said that this experience made him realize how much he excelled at relationship-building and helping customers succeed, and this solidified his decision to stay in sales. 

As an AE, he gets to serve as a true partner to the company’s customers, not just a vendor, seeking to understand each business’s challenges while building trust and fostering a long-term partnership.

“GitLab gave me the resources and opportunities to develop that muscle, and the ability to be promoted internally meant I could actually leverage my strengths instead of having to look elsewhere,” O’Dowd said.

 

“GitLab gave me the resources and opportunities to develop that muscle, and the ability to be promoted internally meant I could actually leverage my strengths instead of having to look elsewhere.”

 

Since he started working at GitLab, he has reached various career milestones. Besides being named MVP of the sales development organization after his first year at the company, O’Dowd also got to be a part of the organization’s journey to going public.

Apart from these larger accomplishments, he feels energized by his day-to-day work, especially when working with prospective customers who are eager to consolidate their toolchains using GitLab’s software. O’Dowd recently worked with a customer who was juggling five different competitor tools, helping them adopt the company’s platform, including its AI features, before working with them in person to fully understand their business needs. 

“Seeing them continue to grow with GitLab and take advantage of each new release reminds me why I love this work,” he said.

 

How GitLab Helps Employees Grow as DevSecOps and AI Continue to Evolve

According to O’Dowd, the DevSecOps space never stands still — and that’s a good thing. 

“The constant evolution is what keeps me energized,” he said. 

As the DevSecOps landscape continues to be transformed, O’Dowd’s own skill set keeps evolving as well. He considers his own path to becoming an AE as a “proof of concept” of the growth opportunities available to GitLab’s people.

“In five years, I’ve gone from working with our smallest customers to partnering with our top mid-market accounts,” O’Dowd said. “That kind of growth doesn’t happen by accident; it happens because GitLab invests in developing talent from within.”

He feels fortunate to have worked with many supportive managers at GitLab who have helped him hone everything from leadership principles to sales tactics. As he continues to work with more customers on a long-term basis, O’Dowd has also learned the importance of soft skills.

“It sounds simple, but when you approach conversations with that mindset — actually getting to know people beyond their job title and the deal at hand — everything changes,” he said. “I’ve learned to embrace change rather than resist it, and in an industry that moves this fast, that mindset has been critical to my growth.”

O’Dowd is far from the only person who has benefited from GitLab’s empowering growth culture. He said that every employee, regardless of their role, gets to build the career of their dreams while gaining support from those around them. 

“If you’re someone who wants to grow with a product that’s shaping the future of software development, and you want to do it alongside people who will invest in your success, GitLab is the place,” O’Dowd said.

 

 

Why Employees Say GitLab Is a Great Place to Build a Long-Term Career

O’Dowd believes that there are three elements that make GitLab the best place to build a career: the people, the product and the culture. 

He described his colleagues as “world-class” individuals who possess intelligence, drive and a genuine desire to see each other succeed. 

“These are people who want to change the world, and that energy is contagious,” O’Dowd said.

 

“These are people who want to change the world, and that energy is contagious.” 

 

He considers the company’s culture to be the glue that brings all of these elements together. O’Dowd and his colleagues get to reap the benefits of this culture, as they find the support and resources they need to pursue their professional — and personal — ambitions. 

“Whether it’s the flexibility of remote work, the transparency in how we operate or the genuine commitment to helping people grow, GitLab creates an environment where you can build a career you’re proud of,” he said.

 

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