Security Shadow Program

The Security Division Shadow Program offers Individual Contributor (IC) team members the opportunity to shadow a security department of their choice. This program is designed to provide hands-on experience with the different functional areas of security, foster cross-team collaboration, and develop a deeper understanding of our security division.

The Security Shadow program is designed to provide numerous benefits including:

• Broader security expertise
• Enhanced cross-departmental collaboration
• Build stronger working relationships with participants

During the shadow period, the participant will:

• Work directly with a dedicated mentor from their chosen department
• Participate in hands-on activities
• Learn about different security domains and how they interconnect
• Build relationships with security team members across the division
• Attend function-specific meetings and activities

How the Security Shadow Program works

Each security department may host 1 individual at a time. Availability of each team is determined by the department leader. Once a department has confirmed ability to host a participant, the department will create a Shadow agenda and a Shadow application will be made available on LevelUp. Interested participants will select one security department to shadow. Applicants will be matched to their selected team on a first applied, first matched basis.

Shadow Program Time Commitment and Structure

The time commitment for the Shadow program is 4-6 weeks for 2-4 hours per week. The Shadow mentor will be responsible for:

• Developing a shadow agenda
• Determining specific topics to be covered during the shadow experience
• Selecting appropriate activities and meetings for the participant to participate in
• Providing guidance and answering questions throughout the program

While each participating department will have a customized agenda, all participants will:

• Program Support: Spend dedicated time to shadowing one key program/project in the host department
• Team Engagement: Attend weekly team sync meetings with host function
• 1:1 Connections: Attend weekly check-ins with assigned mentor
• Function Immersion: Participate in at least one critical function-specific meeting (planning, review, etc.)
• Shadowing Sessions: Complete 2-3 dedicated shadowing sessions observing key responsibilities

Program Eligibility

• Tenure: Minimum of 1 year tenure at GitLab
• Performance Standing: Must be in good performance standing (meeting or exceeding expectations)
• Manager Approval: Approval from the direct manager confirming capacity to participate while maintaining regular duties
• Time Commitment: Ability to dedicate 2-4 hours per week to shadow activities over the program duration

How to Enroll

Cohorts will kick off on the below dates. Applications will open up via LevelUp two weeks prior to the cohort launching. Cohort launches are dependent upon department capacity to host a shadow participant.

Shadow Program Launch Dates:

• Q2 Cohort - In Progress
• Q3 Cohort - Applications Open: 2025-10-05, Cohort Launches: 2025-10-19
• Q4 Cohort - Applications Open: 2026-01-11, Cohort Launches: 2026-01-25
• Q1 Cohort - Applications Open: 2026-04-01, Cohort Launches: 2026-04-19

Questions

Feel free to contact the Security Team in our Slack Channel