Staff Engineer (Data Semantics)

TL;DR

Staff Engineer (Data Semantics): Leading the technical direction of semantic infrastructure and observability platform initiatives with an accent on schema evolution, telemetry standardization, and interoperability. Focus on designing and scaling high-throughput distributed systems that power Datadog’s product experiences and AI capabilities.

Location: Must be based in or able to work from Madrid, Spain or Paris, France (Hybrid)

Company

Datadog is a leading observability and security platform for cloud applications, providing monitoring and analytics for developers, IT operations, and security teams.

What you will do

• Lead the technical direction of the Data Semantics team while remaining hands-on in design and delivery.
• Build and scale semantic infrastructure bridging OpenTelemetry, native telemetry, and customer data models.
• Drive platform initiatives focused on schema evolution, telemetry standardization, and semantic interoperability.
• Partner with cross-functional engineering and product teams to define standards and align stakeholders.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, and career development.
• Lead investigation and resolution efforts for complex production incidents in critical platform services.

Requirements

• Significant experience designing, operating, and scaling large-scale data infrastructure or distributed systems.
• Demonstrated Staff-level impact through technical leadership, architectural ownership, and cross-team influence.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to drive alignment across organizations without direct authority.
• Product-oriented mindset with the ability to connect platform investments to customer outcomes.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous problem spaces, balancing long-term strategy with pragmatic execution.
• Must be able to work from the Madrid or Paris office as part of a hybrid workplace model.

Nice to have

• Experience with schema design and metadata systems.
• Familiarity with OpenTelemetry and observability platforms.
• Knowledge of graph databases or AI-assisted developer tooling.

Culture & Benefits

• Generous and competitive benefits package.
• New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan.
• Continuous career development and pathing opportunities.
• Employee-focused onboarding and internal mentorship programs.
• Inclusive and collaborative workplace culture.