Level

Datadog

Staff Engineer, Compute

Datadog is hiring a Staff Engineer, Compute in Lisbon, Portugal. Level rates it ; you can apply on Datadog.

Level's read on this job

  • On Level's scale, this role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
  • Tools and skills the posting cites include Kubernetes, Go and AWS.
  • Level classifies it as a senior role.
  • Level lists 433 other open roles at Datadog.

AI in this role

Staff Engineer needed to scale Kubernetes compute fleets supporting rapidly growing AI and cloud-native workloads across multiple clouds.

kubernetesgoawsgcpazure
capacity-planningdistributed-systemscloud-infrastructuresoftware-engineering

As a Staff Engineer on Datadog's Compute – Disruption and Workload Placement team, you'll help define how our Kubernetes fleet scales to meet the demands of rapidly growing AI and cloud-native workloads. You'll work on the systems that ensure engineering teams have the right compute capacity, in the right region, at the right time across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. This is a highly technical, high-impact role where you'll shape the future of capacity orchestration, influence platform architecture, and solve infrastructure challenges that directly support Datadog's continued growth.

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:

  • Lead the technical direction of capacity management and workload placement for Datadog's Kubernetes platform spanning 100,000+ virtual machines across multiple cloud providers.
  • Design and build systems that optimize how engineering workloads are scheduled and deployed across regions while balancing capacity constraints, reliability, and performance.
  • Partner across infrastructure teams to evolve multi-region and multi-cloud capacity orchestration as Datadog continues to scale.
  • Develop production software in Go to improve Kubernetes platform capabilities, automation, and operational efficiency.
  • Use data and capacity signals to influence infrastructure decisions, forecast growth, and improve workload placement strategies.

Who You Are:

  • You have significant experience designing and operating large-scale Kubernetes-based infrastructure or platform systems.
  • You are an experienced software engineer with strong programming skills, ideally in Go or a comparable systems programming language.
  • You have hands-on experience with at least one major cloud provider (AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure) and understand distributed cloud infrastructure.
  • You have a strong systems mindset and enjoy solving complex infrastructure, scheduling, or capacity management challenges.
  • You are comfortable working with operational data, capacity forecasting, or analytical approaches that inform engineering decisions.
  • You have a proven track record of providing technical leadership across teams and influencing architecture without relying on direct management authority.

Datadog values people from all walks of life. We know not everyone will meet all the above qualifications on day one. That’s okay. If you’re passionate about technology and want to grow your experience, we encourage you to apply.

Benefits and Growth:

  • 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

Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog.

 

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About Datadog: 

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.

Equal Opportunity at Datadog:

Datadog is proud to offer equal employment opportunity to everyone regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, veteran status, and other characteristics protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. Here are our Candidate Legal Notices for your reference. 

Datadog endeavors to make our Careers Page accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please complete this form. This form is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications. 

Privacy and AI Guidelines:

Any information you submit to Datadog as part of your application will be processed in accordance with Datadog’s Applicant and Candidate Privacy Notice. For information on our AI policy, please visit Interviewing at Datadog AI Guidelines.

How we rate this

Staff Engineer, Compute at Datadog rates 10 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

  1. ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
  2. ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
  3. ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
  4. ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Capacity PlanningDistributed SystemsCloud InfrastructureSoftware EngineeringKubernetesGoAWSGoogle Cloud

Questions you could be asked

  1. Tell me about a project where capacity planning was part of your work. What did you do?
  2. Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
  3. Tell me about a project where cloud infrastructure was part of your work. What did you do?
  4. Tell me about a project where software engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
  5. Walk me through how you've used Kubernetes in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

  • List these exact terms on your resume: Capacity Planning, Distributed Systems, Cloud Infrastructure, Software Engineering, and Kubernetes. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
  • Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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