Staff Software Engineer - RUM Platform

We're looking for a Staff Engineer to join the RUM (Real User Monitoring) Platform team within Datadog's DEM (Digital Experience Monitoring) pillar. In this role, you'll lead foundational engineering work that enables scalable, cross-product integrations across critical observability features such as session replay, error tracking, feature flags, and product analytics. You'll work hands-on to bring clarity to complex systems, drive architectural convergence, and build bridges across teams. As the first Staff Engineer dedicated to this platform effort, you'll shape both the technical vision and execution across multiple products—and unlock rapid innovation for years to come. At Datadog, we value our office culture – the relationships and collaboration it builds and the creativity it brings. 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 evolve platform infrastructure that supports frontend observability products across DEM, including RUM, session replay, feature flags, and product analytics. • Build and scale data pipelines and reducers using technologies such as Kafka and Redis to ingest, transform, and serve real-time user experience data. • Partner with SDK, FE and OpenTelemetry contributors to support a growing number of data platforms and open standards in frontend instrumentation. • Guide cross-functional collaboration by identifying shared patterns and unifying backend infrastructure across multiple product lines. • Solve ambiguous, high-impact technical problems by applying deep systems knowledge and delivering clear architectural direction. • Serve as a technical leader and mentor within the RUM organization and broader engineering community at Datadog. Who You Are: • Experienced in building scalable, distributed backend systems using technologies such as Kafka, Redis, and Java. • Comfortable managing complex data pipelines and translating diverse data sources into semantically aligned, actionable insights. • Skilled at navigating ambiguity and driving clarity across multiple teams and product surfaces. • Familiar with open standards in observability, such as OpenTelemetry, and excited to contribute to a broader ecosystem. • Proactive and hands-on—you're ready to dive into unclear problem spaces and turn them into reliable, performant systems. • Based in Paris or Madrid preferred; other EMEA locations with strong alignment may be considered. • You have demonstrated ability to use AI coding tools in day-to-day workflows and validate, critique, and refine AI-generated output. • Bonus: you're motivated to push the boundaries of how AI can improve software engineering best practices and contribute to building AI-enabled products. Datadog values people from all walks of life. We understand 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 skills, we encourage you to apply. Benefits and Growth: • New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) • Continuous professional development, product training, and career pathing • Intradepartmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking • An inclusive company culture, ability to join our Community Guilds (Datadog employee resource groups) • Competitive global benefits • Giving programs Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog. #LI-Remote About Datadog: Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) is a global SaaS business, delivering a rare combination of growth and profitability. We are on a mission to break down silos and solve complexity in the cloud age by enabling digital transformation, cloud migration, and infrastructure monitoring of our customers' entire technology stacks. Built by engineers, for engineers, Datadog is used by organizations of all sizes across a wide range of industries. Together, we champion professional development, diversity of thought, innovation, and work excellence to empower continuous growth. Join the pack and become part of a collaborative, pragmatic, and thoughtful people-first community where we solve tough problems, take smart risks, and celebrate one another. 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 t