The ML Observability team builds cutting-edge tools to monitor, explain, and improve AI systems in production, particularly those leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI. We provide robust, scalable observability for AI workloads, including drift detection and model evaluation, and behavior tracing, enabling customers to ship AI with confidence.
As a Staff Engineer, you’ll lead the development of new features and foundational capabilities within Datadog’s LLM Observability product. You will shape product direction, drive experimentation, and apply your deep understanding of both AI systems and software engineering to solve open-ended problems in the fast-moving AI landscape. Your work will directly impact how our customers monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize LLM-based applications in production.
Join us in building the foundational tools that make AI systems observable, understandable, and reliable in the real world.
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:
Drive design and implementation of LLM observability features.
- Ideate, prototype, and scale new product features to provide insights and drive improvements for generative AI systems
- Work cross-functionally with other eng teams, product, UX, and applied science to iterate fast and find product-market fit
- Develop and extend tools for tracing, evaluating, and debugging LLMs
- Influence architecture decisions and mentor engineers to build resilient, high-performance systems
- Stay close to customer pain points and use those insights to guide product and engineering priorities
- Stay current with industry trends and advancements in machine learning and observability, driving innovation within the team
Who You Are:
- You have a BS/MS/PhD in a Computer Science, Engineering or related scientific field or equivalent experience
- Deep understanding of distributed systems and scalable backend architectures
- Hands-on experience building and shipping LLM-powered or GenAI applications.
- Understanding of model internals, inference pipelines, evaluation techniques, and prompt engineering
- Ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-changing spaces and have a product-oriented mindset
- You’re excited to shape the next generation of AI observability tools from the ground up
- Communicate clearly, think rigorously, and take pride in clean, maintainable code
- Experience with observability tools/platforms
Datadog values people from all walks of life. We understand 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 skills, we encourage you to apply.
Benefits and Growth:
- Get to build tools for software engineers, just like yourself. And use the tools we build to accelerate our development.
- Have a lot of influence on product direction and impact on the business .
- Work with skilled, knowledgeable, and kind teammates who are happy to teach and learn
- Competitive global benefits
- Continuous professional development
Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog.
#LI-Hybrid
Datadog offers a competitive salary and equity package, and may include variable compensation. Actual compensation is based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience. In addition, Datadog offers a wide range of best in class, comprehensive and inclusive employee benefits for this role including healthcare, dental, parental planning, and mental health benefits, a 401(k) plan and match, paid time off, fitness reimbursements, and a discounted employee stock purchase plan.
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
- BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field or equivalent experience
- Deep understanding of distributed systems and scalable backend architectures
- Hands-on experience building and shipping LLM-powered or generative AI applications
- Understanding of model internals, inference pipelines, evaluation techniques, and prompt engineering
- Experience with observability tools and platforms
- Proven ability to influence architecture and mentor engineers to build resilient, high-performance systems
- Product-oriented mindset and ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-changing environments
- Strong communication skills and commitment to clean, maintainable code
What the Team is Saying
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Datadog Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage paired with dedicated mental‑health access (including free annual sessions for employees and dependents) and gender‑affirming care indicates robust healthcare support. Fitness reimbursements further reinforce preventative wellness.
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Parental & Family Support — Fully paid, gender‑neutral parental leave alongside family‑forming support (adoption, fertility, preservation, surrogacy) and childcare assistance shows strong backing for growing families. Pet‑related assistance in eligible offices expands family‑oriented offerings.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An employee stock purchase plan with a discount and RSUs for many roles broaden access to ownership. This equity mix enhances total rewards beyond base pay.
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.
