Commercial Account Executive - Japan

An overview of this role

As a Commercial Account Executive, Mid-Market, you’ll be the primary point of contact for prospective and existing customers in our mid-market segment, helping organizations modernize how they plan, build, secure, and ship software with GitLab’s AI-powered DevSecOps platform. You’ll own a broad book of business in your territory and serve as a strategic, trusted advisor to your accounts as you prospect, run complex sales cycles, and guide customers on their journey with GitLab to achieve clear business outcomes while supporting adoption and reducing churn. You’ll collaborate closely with Sales Development, Solutions Consultant, Renewals, Partners, and Sales leadership, using value-based selling and structured sales methodologies (such as MEDDPICC and Command of the Message) to build a healthy pipeline, run accurate forecasts, and support revenue goals across a wide range of deal sizes.

What you’ll do

• Own and manage a broad Mid-Market book of business as the primary point of contact in your territory, focusing on new and expansion opportunities.
• Focus on customer accounts with > 4,000 employees, managing the spectrum of project sizes and complexity within the mid-market segment.
• Articulate the value of GitLab’s AI-powered DevSecOps platform to Mid-Market prospects and customers, tailoring messaging to their business and technical needs.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline through consistent prospecting, qualification, and advancement of opportunities, using structured methodologies (such as MEDDPICC and Command of the Message) to support your pipeline and revenue goals.
• Document buying criteria, decision processes, next steps, and key stakeholders to run disciplined, well-orchestrated sales cycles.
• Collaborate with sales development, customer success, renewals, marketing, technical teams, and partners to deliver a cohesive pre- and post-sales experience, co-sell and close opportunities, and expand GitLab’s footprint while delivering added value for customers.
• Support customer adoption of GitLab solutions, proactively work to reduce churn and contraction, and participate in quarterly forecasting and territory planning.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by sharing win/loss insights, updating the sales handbook, and being a clear voice of the customer into the product via our public issue tracker.

What you’ll bring

• 8+ years of Digital Native or Mid-Market sales experience in Japan with a proven track record of driving net-new logo acquisition and self-generating a robust pipeline through strategic outbound initiatives.
• A proven ability to penetrate greenfield territories or untapped market segments, establishing local pipelines and driving revenue growth from inception.
• An Ownership Mindset with a proactive, self-motivated approach to driving results in fast-paced, evolving environments. A true collaborator who takes pride in personal accountability and treats every challenge as an opportunity to deliver real outcomes.
• A strategic approach to territory prioritization that balances Speed with Quality—demonstrating the discipline to move fast, experiment, and execute with high standards while building trusted customer relationships based on fairness and mutual respect.
• A strong focus on Customer Outcomes and value realization, with the commercial acumen to connect deep product adoption directly to long-term revenue growth and expanded customer commitments.
• Ability to collaborate closely with cross-functional partners (sales development, customer success, renewals, marketing, partners, and technical teams) to coordinate account strategies.
• An interest in or experience with modern software development lifecycle (SDLC) innovations, including AI-powered DevSecOps, with a focus on helping organizations build secure and compliant software.
• Native-level Japanese and business-level English communication skills.
• Candidate MUST be based in Japan and have full working rights in Japan

About the team

The Commercial Account Executive - Mid-Market role sits within GitLab’s broader Sales organization, focused on helping Digital Native, mid-market and Startups customers adopt and expand their use of our AI powered DevSecOps platform. You’ll be part of a distributed team of Account Executives, Sales Development, Solution Consultants, Renewals, and Partners who work asynchronously across regions to manage a broad book of business and a wide range of opportunity sizes. Our mission is to guide customers through their journey with GitLab, from first evaluation to long term value realization, by developing new business, strengthening customer relationships, and supporting healthy product adoption. We collaborate closely through shared playbooks, our sales handbook, and GitLab itself to stay aligned on territory plans, pipeline health, and best practices. For more on how we work, see the Commercial Account Executive Handbook.