Manager I, Applied AI - Distilled Models

Location: Paris, France; hybrid workplace

Company

Datadog builds monitoring and security solutions and develops AI capabilities that reach production customers.

What you will do

• Lead and develop a team of engineers and applied scientists focused on cost-efficient specialized models and AI security.
• Define technical direction and shape product bets with product managers, research teams, and cross-functional partners.
• Own delivery of AI systems from early research exploration through production-grade reliability and broader adoption.
• Balance quality, latency, cost, and safety when shipping AI-powered products.
• Define quality standards and guide the development of offline and online evaluation pipelines to measure quality and detect model drift.
• Coach engineers, support career growth, contribute to hiring, and promote experimentation and knowledge sharing.

Requirements

• Experience leading and mentoring engineers in a fast-moving technical domain.
• Deep expertise in one or more areas of AI or machine learning, including large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, semantic search, agentic systems, deep learning, or NLP.
• Experience with offline benchmarks and online metrics for evaluating AI systems.
• Strong product judgment and the ability to define customer problems and success criteria for early-stage work.
• BS, MS, or PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Nice to have

• Experience taking AI products from 0 to 1 and making deliberate decisions about scoping, iteration, pivoting, or stopping.

Culture & Benefits

• Office culture emphasizes collaboration, relationships, creativity, and work-life harmony.
• Cross-team collaboration and knowledge sharing are part of the broader AI organization.
• The role combines applied research with product delivery and customer impact.