Datadog for Startups - Forward Deployed Engineering Lead

ABOUT THE ROLE We are seeking a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead to play a central role in shaping the future of Datadog's Forward Deployed Engineering function. This is an opportunity to join a rapidly growing strategic function with significant influence on its operating model and future direction. As a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead, you will work in close partnership with the Head of Datadog for Startups and Forward Deployed Engineers, and the existing FDE team to 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. WHAT YOU'LL DO As a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead, you will be responsible for evolving and scaling the FDE operating model end to end, including engagement intake, scoping, sprint delivery, handoff back to account teams, and the success metrics and reporting infrastructure that support them. You will also build out a catalog of FDE offerings, capture product and feature gaps uncovered during deployments, and partner with PM and Engineering to strengthen the field-feedback channel that informs roadmap decisions. Additionally, you will hire, onboard, and develop full-time FDEs, manage a rotating cohort of SWE and TSE secondments, and coach the team on engagement, scoping, stakeholder communication, and Datadog platform depth. WHAT YOU'LL NEED To be successful in this role, you will need 8+ years of experience in forward deployed engineering, solutions architecture, software engineering, or related technical fields, including at least 3 years in a customer-facing technical role. You will also need 2+ years of engineering management or technical leadership experience, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and cross-functional collaboration. You should 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. You should also bring deep familiarity with modern cloud-native stacks and hands-on experience with observability, monitoring, APM, or logging platforms. WHY REMOTE Datadog operates as a hybrid workplace to ensure our employees can create a work-life harmony that best fits them. As a remote employee, you will have the flexibility to work from anywhere and will be expected to communicate exceptionally across audiences from engineering leads and CTOs to VP-level executives. BENEFITS As a Forward Deployed Engineering Lead at Datadog, you will have the opportunity to shape and scale a rapidly growing strategic function, partner directly with leadership across Engineering, Product, Sales, Customer Success, and Business Development, influence customer outcomes while helping inform Datadog's product roadmap through structured field feedback, and develop expertise across cloud infrastructure, platform engineering, AI observability, deployment strategy, and customer-facing technical leadership.