Senior Legal Counsel, APAC

An overview of this role

As Senior Commercial Counsel in APJ, you’ll help GitLab grow across Asia-Pacific and Japan by bringing legal clarity to complex commercial deals. Reporting to the Director, Legal, Commercial, you’ll work closely with regional Sales and cross-functional partners to negotiate sophisticated agreements, manage cross-border legal questions, and turn varied local requirements into practical deal strategies. This is a high-impact role for someone who wants to shape how GitLab transacts across a diverse region while protecting the business and helping teams move with confidence.

In your first year, you’ll take ownership of key APJ contracting workstreams, strengthen how we handle region-specific legal risk, and improve the templates and processes that support consistent deal execution across APJ. You’ll also help guide work involving data privacy and AI-related terms across multiple jurisdictions, including Japan.

What you’ll do

• Negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements across APJ markets, including SaaS, software, partnership, services, consulting, marketing, licensing, data privacy, and AI-related contracts.
• Manage strategic and high-priority transactions across multiple jurisdictions, balancing legal risk with business needs.
• Partner with regional Sales leadership, internal stakeholders, and external counterparties to move deals forward with clear legal guidance.
• Navigate country-specific contracting norms, approval paths, and drafting requirements across APJ markets, including Japan.
• Advise on cross-border transaction structures and coordinate with outside counsel when local legal support is needed.
• Assess contractual risk and provide practical recommendations, including escalation paths and alternative terms.
• Develop and maintain APJ-focused templates, playbooks, policies, and supporting documentation to improve consistency in contracting.
• Train contract managers and regional Sales team members on contracting practices, legal developments, and day-to-day decision-making across the region.

What you’ll bring

• Qualified to practice law through a J.D. or equivalent legal credential, with active bar membership or a license in a relevant jurisdiction.
• Experienced in commercial and technology transactions across APJ markets within a law firm, in-house legal team, or both.
• Skilled at negotiating complex agreements across multiple APJ jurisdictions, with familiarity with Japan contracting practices.
• Comfortable handling cross-border transactions that involve different legal systems and coordination with outside counsel.
• Able to identify legal risk, explain tradeoffs clearly, and provide business-focused guidance in varied regulatory environments.
• Experienced in improving or creating contract templates, playbooks, and processes that support consistent execution across teams and markets.
• Effective at building trusted relationships with Sales and cross-functional partners in a remote, globally distributed environment.
• Open to bringing transferable experience and language skills relevant to APJ markets; working proficiency in an APJ language such as Japanese is helpful but not required.

About the team

The Commercial Legal team supports GitLab’s go-to-market work by helping teams structure, negotiate, and close contracts in a way that protects the business and supports durable growth. In this role, you’ll work with regional and cross-functional partners in an all-remote environment, collaborating asynchronously across time zones on complex commercial issues that often span multiple jurisdictions. The team is focused on improving consistency in contracting, managing evolving legal risk, and building practical guidance that helps GitLab operate effectively across diverse markets, including the APJ region.

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.