About this role
This is a senior individual contributor role for someone who wants to actively shape how Engineering, one of the most important parts of how Datadog develops its people.
You'll sit at the center of Datadog's biggest talent bets for Engineering: how we build leaders, define career paths and org design, evolve performance, move talent internally, and plan succession for our most critical roles. You’ll own this work end to end, from the first framing conversation with senior leaders through to delivering a program running at scale.
AI is changing how Engineering builds software, and it is changing how People builds the programs that support Engineering too. This role sits at the centre of both: understanding how AI is reshaping engineering roles, skills and structures, and building AI-powered solutions within People to keep pace.
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:
• Design and lead complex talent programmes for Engineering, spanning leadership capability, career architecture, org design, performance, internal mobility and succession for critical roles.
• Partner directly with PBPs and senior leaders to turn ambiguous problems into clear programme goals, design principles and success measures.
• Help Engineering and People understand and respond to how AI is reshaping roles, skills and ways of working, and translate that shift into practical talent and org design choices.
• Stay hands-on from concept through to adoption: this is a build and run role, not a strategy and handover role.
• Work across Enablement, Learning, People Analytics and People Systems so what you build scales and embeds into core people processes.
• Equip PBPs with frameworks, tools and executive-ready narratives that support real adoption in the business.
• Operate in ambiguity and influence without formal authority, building trust with senior stakeholders even before the answer is clear.
• Evaluate impact using qualitative and quantitative data, and refine your approach based on what the business actually needs.
Who You Are:
• You have designed and delivered talent programs in a fast-growing, global organization, and partnered directly with executives on strategic people questions.
• You are equally comfortable setting direction and getting into the detail, able to move from strategy to execution without handing work off prematurely.
• You are data-fluent, pragmatic and outcome-focused, with a strong bias towards delivery and follow-through.
• You build consensus, challenge constructively and stay credible across differing perspectives.
We don't expect every box checked on day one. If you're excited about the challenge and want to grow into it, we want to hear from you.
Datadog values people from all