Manager, Application Security (apac)

GitLab GitLab · Enterprise · Australia +4 · Remote · Product Security

This role is for a Manager, Application Security for the APAC region at GitLab. The primary focus is on managing and developing a team of Application Security Engineers who perform security reviews, threat modeling, and vulnerability triage. A key aspect of the role is to drive AI adoption within the team, leveraging AI-assisted workflows for various security tasks to improve efficiency and reduce operational toil. The role also involves ensuring product security risks are managed, driving operational excellence, and building team capabilities. While AI tools are a significant part of the role, the core function is application security management and engineering, not building AI models themselves.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead, develop, and mentor a team of Application Security Engineers focused on clearing roadblocks, career growth and development, coaching and mentoring.
  2. Own the team’s operational cadence end to end: triage rotations, Application Security review queues, milestone planning.
  3. Drive tactical execution of the Application Security program: scaling the team for non linear security gains, security reviews enhancements and secure design consultations for high-risk changes.
  4. Lead AI adoption within the Application Security team: leverage AI-assisted/automated workflows for review triage, threat model generation, code analysis, and operational toil reduction. Champion practical AI use without losing critical thinking rigor.
  5. Recommend and drive security-related technical and process improvements.

Skills

Required

  • people management experience in application security or a closely related security engineering discipline
  • secure code review
  • threat modeling
  • vulnerability management
  • secure SDLC
  • common vulnerability classes (OWASP Top 10, CWE)
  • building trust with Product and Engineering peers
  • influencing security related decisions
  • co-owning outcomes
  • AI-augmented workflows
  • leveraging tools like GitLab Duo
  • establishing clear guidance
  • distributing workload appropriately
  • planning and organizing work
  • clear communication
  • scoping projects
  • breaking down complex problems
  • measuring performance against goals

Nice to have

  • high-velocity R&D organizations
  • remote-first culture

What the JD emphasized

  • material product security risks and tradeoffs are surfaced, acknowledged, and decided at the right leadership levels
  • Own operational execution for the team and ensure it operates through operational excellence.
  • Build capability across every team member through coaching, mentoring, and career development
  • Drive automation and AI-assisted enhancements of repeatable and time consuming work.
  • security reviews, threat modeling, vulnerability triage
  • security reviews enhancements
  • secure design consultations for high-risk changes
  • leverage AI-assisted/automated workflows for review triage, threat model generation, code analysis, and operational toil reduction
  • Champion practical AI use without losing critical thinking rigor
  • security-related technical and process improvements
  • Author and execute project plans for security initiatives
  • Set schedules and assignments, anticipate roadblocks, and measure performance against goals.
  • Provide input on security architecture, features, and issues
  • Serve as a partner and enabler to Product and Engineering teams on application security decisions
  • Partner with Security Architecture, Infrastructure Security, Security Research, and Security Operations on end-to-end risk reduction
  • aligning Application Security work with broader Product Security objectives
  • Prepare and deliver meaningful, actionable metrics to Product Security leadership
  • Hire and build a world-class team
  • Train team members to screen candidates and conduct structured interviews
  • Build the team’s ability to grow itself
  • Demonstrable prior people management experience in application security or a closely related security engineering discipline, preferably in high-velocity R&D organizations.
  • Deep familiarity with application security domains: secure code review, threat modeling, vulnerability management, secure SDLC, and common vulnerability classes (OWASP Top 10, CWE), whether from direct Application Security roles or from owning secure delivery of complex systems.
  • Demonstrated success building trust with Product and Engineering peers, influencing security related decisions, and co-owning outcomes rather than acting solely as a gate.
  • Comfort with AI-augmented workflows and enthusiasm for leveraging tools like GitLab Duo to scale the Application Security function, along with strong alignment to GitLab’s [values](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/values/) and a track record of thriving in a highly collaborative, remote-first culture.
  • Good at establishing clear guidance and distributing the workload appropriately.
  • Lays out work in a well-planned and organized manner, maintains two-way dialogue with others on work and results and is a clear communicator.
  • Accurately scopes the length and difficulty of projects, breaks them into clear process steps with owners and timelines, anticipates problems before they stall progress, and consistently measures performance against goals to evaluate what worked and what didn't.
  • Breaks down complex problems wi