Staff Software Engineer - Logs Management

Datadog
New York, New York, USA / New York, New York, NY, United States2026-02-19

About the job

We're looking for a Staff Engineer to join the Logs organization at Datadog and help redefine how our customers ingest, query, and derive insights from logs data. In this role, you’ll work closely with Product Managers and customers to drive complex initiatives across ingestion pipelines, search infrastructure, and intelligent log management capabilities - all while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with AI and distributed systems. You’ll have the opportunity to lead efforts that shape the future of log management.

Responsibilities

Partner with Product Managers to define ambiguous product requirements and determine the most impactful solutions for customers

Lead technical strategy and execution and design systems surrounding log query performance and ingestion at scale.

Explore and prototype new capabilities and collaborate with peers on initiatives spanning AI-powered log management, security and business operations, advanced query capabilities, and external data sources query capabilities.

Mentor engineers across levels and contribute to growing a high-performing, collaborative team culture

Qualifications

Minimum

You have deep experience architecting and scaling backend systems, with a strong focus on data-intensive or distributed infrastructure

You excel in ambiguous environments, demonstrating a mix of drive, curiosity and pragmatic decision-making

You’ve partnered effectively with Product Managers and customers to define product direction and ship impactful features

You have expertise in debugging complex systems and optimizing performance across real-time data pipelines

You have experience in using AI agents tools in your day-to-day engineering practices

You lead by example and enjoy helping others grow through mentorship and collaboration

You have demonstrated ability to use AI coding tools in day-to-day workflows and validate, critique, and refine AI-generated output

Preferred

Bonus: you’re motivated to push the boundaries of how AI can improve software engineering best practices and contribute to building AI-enabled