Staff Engineer - Data Semantics

Dublin💼 Full-time🗓 2026-07-02 → 2026-07-31

Core

Lead technical direction and build semantic infrastructure for Datadog's observability platform, bridging OpenTelemetry, cloud telemetry, and customer data models to power AI capabilities and product experiences.

Role type

Staff Engineer (Technical Lead)

Builds

Semantic infrastructure, schema evolution systems, and interoperability standards for telemetry data.

Domain

Observability, Data Semantics, Distributed Systems

Deliverable

production ML models | infrastructure

Required skills

Distributed systems architecture, Large-scale data infrastructure design, OpenTelemetry, Schema design, Technical leadership, Cross-team influence, On-call incident management

Preferred skills

Knowledge graphs, AI-assisted developer tooling, Metadata systems

Technologies

OpenTelemetry, Cloud provider telemetry stacks

Responsibilities

Lead technical direction while remaining hands-on in design and delivery; Build and scale semantic infrastructure; Drive platform initiatives for schema evolution and standardization; Partner with engineering and product teams to define standards; Mentor engineers through design reviews and career development; Participate in on-call rotations for critical production incidents

Seniority

Staff, hands-on IC with strategic leadership

Rewrite

## Responsibilities - Lead the technical direction of the Data Semantics team while remaining deeply hands-on in design, implementation, and delivery. - Build and scale semantic infrastructure that bridges OpenTelemetry, Datadog-native telemetry, cloud-provider telemetry, and customer-defined data models. - Drive platform initiatives focused on schema evolution, telemetry standardization, data insights, and semantic interoperability across Datadog products. - Partner with engineering and product teams across the platform to define standards, align stakeholders, and deliver high-leverage platform capabilities. - Mentor engineers through design reviews, technical guidance, operational excellence, and long-term career development. - Participate in on-call rotations and lead investigation and resolution efforts for complex production incidents affecting critical platform services. ## Requirements - You have significant experience designing, operating, and scaling large-scale data infrastructure, distributed systems, or high-throughput data platforms. - You have demonstrated Staff-level impact through technical leadership, architectural ownership, cross-team influence, and mentorship. - You are a strong communicator who can drive alignment across engineering and product organizations without direct authority. - You bring a product-oriented mindset and can connect platform investments to customer outcomes and business impact. - You are comfortable operating in ambiguous problem spaces, balancing long-term platform strategy with pragmatic execution. ## Nice to Have - Experience with schema design, metadata systems, OpenTelemetry, observability platforms, knowledge graphs, or AI-assisted developer tooling. ## Benefits - Generous and competitive benefits package - New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan - Continuous career development and pathing opportunities - Employee-focused best in class onboarding - Internal mentor and cross-departmental buddy program - Friendly and inclusive workplace culture

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