Staff Engineer - Data Semantics

About the role

The Data Semantics team manages the shared infrastructure that supports Datadog product features and AI-driven workflows. As a Staff Engineer, you will guide technical strategy for telemetry modeling and interoperability while maintaining high-scale production systems.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead technical direction for the team while remaining hands-on with implementation and design.
• Develop and scale infrastructure that integrates OpenTelemetry, Datadog-native telemetry, cloud provider data, and custom user models.
• Manage platform initiatives related to schema evolution, data standardization, and semantic interoperability.
• Collaborate with product and engineering partners to align stakeholders and define platform standards.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and career development support.
• Handle on-call duties and lead the resolution of complex production incidents.

Requirements

• Significant experience in designing and operating large-scale distributed systems or high-throughput data platforms.
• Proven Staff-level impact through architectural ownership, technical leadership, and cross-team influence.
• Ability to communicate effectively and drive alignment across organizations without direct authority.
• Product-oriented mindset with the ability to connect infrastructure investments to business outcomes.
• Capacity to navigate ambiguous problem spaces and balance long-term strategy with execution.

Nice to have

• Experience with schema design or metadata systems.
• Background in OpenTelemetry or observability platforms.
• Familiarity with knowledge graphs or AI-assisted developer tooling.

Skills & tools

• OpenTelemetry
• Distributed systems
• Data infrastructure
• Schema design
• Observability platforms

Practical notes

• Benefits include a competitive package, new hire stock equity (RSUs), and an employee stock purchase plan.
• The company provides an onboarding program, internal mentorship, and cross-departmental buddy systems.
• Benefits vary by country and specific employment terms.
• Requisition ID: R11404.