Director, Regional Sales - New Business and Commercial Sales, Japan

GitLab; Remote; IDR 1.609.960.000 - 2.146.614.000; Full time

Job summary

A leading software company is looking for a Director of Regional Sales for New Business to enhance growth across Japan. The role focuses on leading a team to acquire new logos and build a strong sales strategy. Candidates should have proven success in sales leadership within open source or SaaS, good relationship-building skills, and adaptability in a fast-paced environment. This role allows remote work and targets a mixed account base, emphasizing pipeline generation and sales execution.

Benefits

Equal opportunity employer

Remote work flexibility

Qualifications

• Experience in open source, DevOps, or SaaS environments
• Background managing distributed teams in Japan
• Strong negotiation and deal-structuring skills

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Account Executives to drive first-order revenue
• Develop scalable sales strategy for new business growth in Japan
• Partner with regional leadership to refine the sales function

Skills

Proven success leading high-performing field sales teams

Relationship-building and negotiation skills

Ability to design and execute scalable sales strategies

Proficiency in CRM and sales enablement tools

Tools

Salesforce

Clari

Gong

Outreach

Job description

Director, Regional Sales - New Business (Japan)

Location: Remote (Japan)

GitLab is an open‑core software company that develops the most comprehensive AI‑powered DevSecOps Platform. Our mission is to enable everyone to contribute to and co‑create the software that powers our world. We are where careers accelerate, innovation flourishes, and every voice is valued.

An overview of this role

As the Director of Regional Sales – New Business, you will build and lead a dedicated function focused on driving new logo growth across Japan. You will report to the Director of APJ for New Business and will hire, develop, and coach a high‑performing team of Account Executives to win first‑order deals across more than 24,000 in‑ICP accounts, from whitespace to existing installs, with an average deal size up to 25,000. You will define and execute a scalable sales strategy for a fast‑moving, high‑volume territory. You will use tools like Salesforce, Clari, Gong, and Outreach to build predictable pipeline, shorten deal cycles to 6 months or less, and consistently meet or exceed new business goals.

What you’ll do

• Lead a distributed team of Account Executives across Japan focused on winning new logos and driving first‑order revenue.
• Develop and execute a scalable new business sales strategy for Japan, covering both installed base and whitespace accounts within our ideal customer profile.
• Drive consistent pipeline generation and deal progression across a high volume of target accounts, with an emphasis on predictable new logo performance and efficient deal cycles.>
• Collaborate closely with marketing, sales operations, and enablement to design and optimize motions, campaigns, and processes that support new business growth.
• Use CRM and sales enablement tools such as Salesforce, Clari, Gong, and Outreach to inspect pipeline, forecast accurately, and coach your team based on data‑driven insights.
• Hire, onboard, and develop a high‑performing sales team, providing regular coaching on territory planning, opportunity management, negotiation, and deal structure.
• Partner with regional and global sales leadership to help define, refine, and scale this sales function, sharing learnings and best practices across teams.
• Represent GitLab and our open source, DevSecOps, and SaaS offerings with executive‑level stakeholders in Japan, reinforcing our value proposition and long‑term partnerships.

What you’ll bring

• Proven success leading high‑performing field sales teams within open source, DevOps, or SaaS environments, with a focus on new logo acquisition and net new revenue.
• Experience building, coaching, and developing Account Executives to consistently create pipeline, progress opportunities, and close new business across Japan.
• Demonstrated ability to design and execute scalable sales strategies for a large, mixed account base (installed customers and whitespace) across the Japanese market.
• Proficiency using CRM and sales enablement tools such as Salesforce, Clari, Gong, or Outreach to forecast accurately, manage pipelines, and drive operational discipline.
• Strong relationship‑building, negotiation, and deal‑structuring skills, including experience engaging and presenting to executive‑level stakeholders.
• Background managing distributed teams in Japan, with an understanding of local business culture and go‑to‑market dynamics.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and adapt quickly in a fast‑paced, evolving environment, balancing strategic planning with hands‑on deal support.
• Openness to candidates with diverse, transferable leadership and sales experience who can demonstrate success driving new business in complex B2B environments.

About the team

The Regional Sales New Business team at GitLab focuses on acquiring new logos and accelerating first‑order revenue across Japan. We work closely with the Director of APJ for New Business and other sales, marketing, and operations partners. As an all‑remote, distributed team based across Japan, we collaborate asynchronously. We prioritize the highest‑potential accounts within a large ideal customer profile, build scalable processes, and refine a repeatable new business motion.

We welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement.

GitLab is an equal opportunity employer.