Data Semantics is Datadog’s authority on semantic knowledge, providing shared infrastructure that powers both Datadog’s product experiences and AI capabilities. As Datadog continues its investment in OpenTelemetry-native observability, semantic interoperability, and AI-powered workflows, this team sits at the center of some of the company’s most strategic platform initiatives. As a Staff Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader for the team, balancing stewardship of critical production systems with the exploration of new platform capabilities that improve how telemetry is modeled, understood, and consumed across Datadog. You will work closely with engineering and product partners to define standards, drive technical direction, and deliver solutions that scale across Datadog’s observability platform.
At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings to the table. We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them.
What You’ll Do:
- Lead the technical direction of the Data Semantics team while remaining deeply hands-on in design, implementation, and delivery.
- Build and scale semantic infrastructure that bridges OpenTelemetry, Datadog-native telemetry, cloud-provider telemetry, and customer-defined data models.
- Drive platform initiatives focused on schema evolution, telemetry standardization, data insights, and semantic interoperability across Datadog products.
- Partner with engineering and product teams across the platform to define standards, align stakeholders, and deliver high-leverage platform capabilities.
- Mentor engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, operational excellence, and long-term career development.
- Participate in on-call rotations and lead investigation and resolution efforts for complex production incidents affecting critical platform services.
Who You Are:
- You have significant experience designing, operating, and scaling large-scale data infrastructure, distributed systems, or high-throughput data platforms.
- You have demonstrated Staff-level impact through technical leadership, architectural ownership, cross-team influence, and mentorship.
- You are a strong communicator who can drive alignment across engineering and product organizations without direct authority.
- You bring a product-oriented mindset and can connect platform investments to customer outcomes and business impact.
- You are comfortable operating in ambiguous problem spaces, balancing long-term platform strategy with pragmatic execution.
- Experience with schema design, metadata systems, OpenTelemetry, observability platforms, knowledge graphs, or AI-assisted developer tooling is a plus.
Datadog values people from all walks of life. We know not everyone will meet all the above qualifications on day one. That’s okay. If you’re passionate about technology and want to grow your experience, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits and Growth:
- Generous and competitive benefits package
- New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan
- Continuous career development and pathing opportunities
- Employee-focused best in class onboarding
- Internal mentor and cross-departmental buddy program
- Friendly and inclusive workplace culture
Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog.
About Datadog:
Datadog is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity at scale. It brings applications, infrastructure, data, models, and security into one place, using AI to detect and resolve issues before they impact customers. Trusted globally by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth AI leaders, Datadog enables businesses to move faster with clarity and confidence. Learn more about #DatadogLife on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Datadog Learning Center.
Equal Opportunity at Datadog:
Datadog is proud to offer equal employment opportunity to everyone regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. Here are our Candidate Legal Notices for your reference.
Datadog endeavors to make our Careers Page accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please complete this form. This form is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.
Privacy and AI Guidelines:
Any information you submit to Datadog as part of your application will be processed in accordance with Datadog’s Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice. For information on our AI policy, please visit Interviewing at Datadog AI Guidelines.
Skills Required
- Designing, operating, and scaling large-scale data infrastructure, distributed systems, or high-throughput data platforms.
- Demonstrated Staff-level impact through technical leadership, architectural ownership, cross-team influence, and mentorship.
- Experience owning and operating production services, including participation in on-call rotations and incident resolution.
- Strong communication skills to align engineering and product stakeholders without direct authority.
- Product-oriented mindset connecting platform investments to customer outcomes and business impact.
- Comfort operating in ambiguous problem spaces and balancing long-term strategy with pragmatic execution.
- Experience with schema design, metadata systems, and OpenTelemetry.
- Familiarity with observability platforms, knowledge graphs, or AI-assisted developer tooling.
What the Team is Saying
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Datadog Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Coverage spans medical, dental, and vision with a dedicated mental‑health program offering free appointments for employees and dependents, and many locations include fitness reimbursements. Gender‑affirming care support is provided in eligible locations.
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Parental & Family Support — Fully paid, gender‑neutral parental leave is complemented by family‑forming benefits such as adoption, fertility, preservation, and surrogacy support, plus childcare assistance where available. Pet‑related benefits, including adoption assistance and insurance, are offered in some regions.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity participation is emphasized through a discounted employee stock purchase plan and RSUs for eligible roles. These programs can enhance total compensation alongside core salary.
Datadog Insights
What We Do
Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) is a global SaaS business, delivering a rare combination of growth and profitability. We are on a mission to break down silos and solve complexity in the cloud age by enabling digital transformation, cloud migration, and infrastructure monitoring of our customers' entire technology stacks. Built by engineers, for engineers, Datadog is used by organizations of all sizes across a wide range of industries. Together, we champion professional development, diversity of thought, innovation, and work excellence to empower continuous growth. Join the pack and become part of a collaborative, pragmatic, and thoughtful people-first community where we solve tough problems, take smart risks, and celebrate one another.
Why Work With Us
At Datadog, we learn from and celebrate each other daily - each win is a team win. Datadogs solve tough problems, innovate pragmatically, and grow together. We promote from within, provide mentorship and opportunities for career development, and support our colleagues in the process. Best of all? We truly love what we do.
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Datadog Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them and their team.
