engineering
Posted 6 days agoDatadog for Startups - Forward Deployed Engineering Lead
at Datadoghq
San Francisco, United StatesHybrid
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Responsibilities
- Evolve and scale the FDE operating model end to end: engagement intake, scoping, sprint delivery, handoff back to account teams, and the success metrics (time-to-value, adoption lift, ARR influence, NPS) and reporting infrastructure that support them.
- Build out a catalog of FDE offerings spanning observability quickstarts, custom integration development, LLM/AI observability accelerators, CI/CD pipeline instrumentation, and cost optimization deep dives, and contribute to their pricing and business models, including free-to-paid conversion plays, paid deployment packages, and post-deployment success motions.
- Capture product and feature gaps uncovered during deployments, translate them into structured prioritized briefs, and partner with PM and Engineering to strengthen the field-feedback channel that informs roadmap decisions on a regular cadence.
- Hire, onboard, and develop full-time FDEs, manage a rotating cohort of SWE and TSE secondments, build technical assessment frameworks suited to the customer-embedded nature of the role, and coach the team on engagement, scoping, stakeholder communication, and Datadog platform depth.
- Identify high-value mini-product opportunities (integrations, dashboards, automation scripts, open-source tooling), drive lightweight engineering sprints that convert recurring customer needs into reusable assets, and maintain a prioritized build backlog informed by deployment learnings and competitive intelligence.
- Shape and scale a rapidly growing strategic function with significant influence on its operating model and future direction.
- Influence customer outcomes while helping inform Datadog's product roadmap through structured field feedback.
- Develop expertise across cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, AI observability, deployment strategy, and customer-facing technical leadership.
Requirements
- experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions architecture, software engineering, or related technical fields, including at least 3 years in a customer-facing technical role.
- Bring deep familiarity with modern cloud-native stacks (Kubernetes, AWS/GCP/Azure, microservices, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code) and hands-on
- experience with observability, monitoring, APM, or logging platforms; Datadog experience is a strong plus.
- Datadog is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity at scale.
- It brings applications, infrastructure, data, models, and security into one place, using AI to detect and resolve issues before they impact customers.
- Trusted globally by Fortune 500 companies and high-growth AI leaders, Datadog enables businesses to move faster with clarity and confidence.
- Learn more about #DatadogLife on Instagram , LinkedIn, and Datadog Learning Center.
Experience
- Have 2+ years of engineering management or technical leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and cross-functional collaboration.
Benefits
- Datadog offers a competitive salary and equity package, and may include variable compensation.
- Actual compensation is based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, and experience.
- benefits for this role including healthcare, dental, parental planning, and mental health benefits, a 401(k) plan and match, paid time off, fitness reimbursements, and a discounted employee stock purchase plan.
- The reasonably estimated yearly salary for this role at Datadog is: $192,000 — $240,000 USD
Additional details
- Datadog's Forward Deployed Engineering function is in an active growth phase, and the FDE Lead will play a central role in shaping what comes next.
- Working in close partnership with the Head of Datadog for Startups and Forward Deployed Engineers, and the existing FDE team, you will help define and expand the FDE framework, build out the structures and processes that allow the team to operate at scale, and extend the program's reach well beyond any single customer segment.
- This role sits at the rare intersection of sales, execution, program design, and hands-on engineering leadership.
- You are part field technical leader, part program architect, and part cross-functional connector.
- You will help determine what the FDE motion looks like at Datadog, contribute to its playbook, and push the boundaries of what the team can deliver.
- At Datadog, we place value in our office culture - the relationships and collaboration it builds, and the creativity it brings to the table.
- We operate as a hybrid workplace to ensure our Datadogs can create a work-life harmony that best fits them. What You’ll Do:
- Help drive lightweight engineering sprints to convert recurring customer needs into reusable assets that scale across the FDE portfolio.
- Partner with Sales, Solutions Engineering, Customer Success, and Business Development to identify which accounts enter the FDE motion, represent the function in QBRs and executive business reviews, and serve as a trusted advisor through complex deployment cycles. Who You Are: Have 8+ years of
- Have contributed to or scaled a technical program, practice, or new function within a high-growth technology company, with a track record of influencing product roadmaps through structured field feedback.