GitLab has several customer-facing roles that work together across the pre-sales and post-sales journey. This page provides a side-by-side comparison to clarify how each role differs in focus, engagement model, and technical depth.
For an overview of how these roles map to GitLab's paid service tiers, see the [Success Tiers page](/handbook/customer-success/success-services/).
## Role Comparison
| Role | Primary Focus | Typical Activities | Engagement Model | Hands-on vs. Advisory |
| **[CSM](/handbook/customer-success/csm/)** | Drive adoption, outcomes, and satisfaction; align, enable, and expand | Success Plans, onboarding, cadence calls, EBRs, risk management | Designated owner for Essentials tier accounts | Advisory — not hands-on keyboard |
| **[CSE](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/cse/)** | Technical product expertise at scale | Webinars, hands-on labs, pooled sessions, scaled enablement | Pooled / on-demand (Success On-Demand tier) | Technical advisory — not hands-on keyboard |
| **[CSA](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/csa/)** | Highest-rated technical experts; architecture guidance and Accelerator delivery | Strategic planning, maturity assessments, Accelerator design and delivery | Designated for Advanced and Signature tiers | Strategic and architectural advisory — PS handles implementation |
| **[PSE](/handbook/customer-success/professional-services-engineering/)** | Project-based implementation and migration | Installations, migrations, custom development, training under SOWs | Project-scoped, sold by PS Engagement Management | Explicitly hands-on — can be "hands on keyboard" |
| **[Renewals Manager (RM)](/handbook/customer-success/renewals-managers/)** | Own the renewal moment; customer retention | Renewal pipeline, contracts, playbooks, risk and expansion | Global Renewals Organization within CS | Commercial and deal-focused |
| **[Solutions Architect (SA)](/handbook/solutions-architects/)** | Pre-sales technical win | Discovery, demos, POCs, pre-sales Success Plans | Aligned to AEs, engaged per opportunity | Advisory and demonstrative |
| **[ASE](/handbook/support/enhanced-support-offerings/offering-assigned-support-engineer/)** | Incident resolution for Signature tier customers | Support tickets, triage, coordination with product and engineering | Designated for Signature tier | Hands-on troubleshooting in support contexts |
## Key Distinctions
### 1. The "Hands on Keyboard" Boundary
Customer Success roles (CSM, CSE, CSA) are **advisory** — they guide, enable, and recommend, but do not directly modify customer environments or write production code. If a customer needs GitLab to actively implement, configure, or develop a bespoke solution, that work is handled by **Professional Services (PSE)**.
### 2. Engagement Model Spectrum
Engagement models range from pooled and on-demand to fully dedicated and project-scoped:
The **SA** owns the technical relationship during the pre-sales phase, working alongside the Account Executive to win the deal. After the deal closes, the account transitions to a post-sales CS role:
-**CSE** for On-Demand customers
-**CSM** for Essentials tier customers
-**CSA** for Advanced and Signature tier customers
The SA may remain engaged for expansion opportunities or complex technical questions, but the CSM or CSA becomes the primary post-sales technical advisor.
## Related Pages
-[Success Tiers](/handbook/customer-success/success-services/) — how roles map to paid service tiers
