Senior Design Manager - AI Monitoring & Management

Datadog
New York, NY
On-site

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior-level product design leaders who can prototype and ship in code and have deep domain expertise in AI monitoring and management.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with leadership experience in AI-native design and a track record of upleveling product areas
    — “Demonstrated ability to take an existing product area and visibly uplevel its craft and product ownership”
  • Individuals who have led teams of designers and can mentor while maintaining high design standards
    — “Lead and coach a team of four designers, raising their craft, product thinking, and fluency building with AI-native tools”
  • Candidates with technical proficiency in building coded prototypes and a deep understanding of GPU infrastructure and AI workflows
    — “Capability to prototype and ship directly in code (Claude Code, Cursor, or similar), and comfort leading a team that works the same way”

Things to consider

  • The role demands direct technical involvement in coding and prototyping, not just oversight
    — “Prototype and ship directly in code where it has the most impact”
  • Candidates must be comfortable with ambiguity in a rapidly evolving AI space
    — “Nice to have: experience designing developer tools, AI/ML products, or observability platforms, and comfort with ambiguity in a rapidly evolving space”

How to stand out

  • Highlight domain expertise in AI training, GPU infrastructure, or agent debugging in your portfolio
    — “Go deep on the domain (AI training/development workflows, evals, GPU infrastructure, agent debugging) to the point of having independent, well-informed points of view”
  • Showcase examples of end-to-end product design ownership and leadership in complex systems
    — “Portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership and deep domain expertise in at least one complex area”
  • Emphasize your ability to lead design critiques and set high standards for design output
    — “Set and maintain a high bar for design quality across all output ... and lead design critiques within the domain”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • end-to-end product experiences
  • high-quality design output
  • team growth and development
Typical background
10+ years in product design3+ years in design management

Skills & requirements

Required

Product DesignTeam LeadershipProduct StrategyDesign ManagementProduct OwnershipCross-functional CollaborationAi-native Design Practice

Preferred

Experience In Ai/ml ProductsObservability Platforms

About the role

Original posting from Datadog

This team owns what it takes for an organization to trust the AI it runs in production, from the GPU infrastructure that trains and serves models, to the agents and LLM systems built on top of it, to the cost and return those systems deliver to the business. When something fails, this team's work explains why and shows how it's affecting the outcomes customers actually care about. It's a fast-moving space with few established patterns, which gives this team real room to define what best-in-class looks like.

As Senior Design Manager, you'll lead a team of four designers across these three connected product areas, going deep enough on the domain (AI training and development workflows, evaluations, GPU infrastructure, agent debugging) to raise the quality bar, sharpen the product point of view, and mentor the team already doing this work. This is a leadership role built around modern, AI-native design practice: you'll lead and grow a team that builds directly in code rather than handing off static mocks, and you should have the capability to prototype and ship yourself where it has the most impact.

What You'll Do:

Go deep on the domain (AI training/development workflows, evals, GPU infrastructure, agent debugging) to the point of having independent, well-informed points of view

Drive end-to-end product experiences across Agent Observability, GPU Monitoring, and Agent Console, ensuring coherence across the three surfaces

Prototype and ship directly in code where it has the most impact, to demonstrate direction and quality, not as a substitute for the team's own execution

Lead and coach a team of four designers, raising their craft, product thinking, and fluency building with AI-native tools

Conduct regular 1:1s and career conversations; foster psychological safety and a culture of continuous improvement

Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to shape strategy, prioritization, and roadmap direction

Set and maintain a high bar for design quality across all output, including interaction design, visual design, coded prototypes, and user testing, and lead design critiques within the domain

Who You Are:

10+ years in product design roles, with 3+ years in a design management or leadership position

Portfolio demonstrating end-to-end product design ownership and deep domain expertise in at least one complex area

Demonstrated ability to take an existing product area and visibly uplevel its craft and product ownership

Strong communication and influence skills; able to partner effectively with senior-level PMs and Engineers

Experience designing complex, data-heavy products

Capability to prototype and ship directly in code (Claude Code, Cursor, or similar), and comfort leading a team that works the same way

Demonstrated ability to mentor designers and raise their craft through coaching and example

Nice to have: experience designing developer tools, AI/ML products, or observability platforms, and comfort with ambiguity in a rapidly evolving space

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 design education

Intradepartmental mentor and peer coaching program

Inclusive company culture; access to Datadog Community Guilds (employee resource groups)

Free, global mental health benefits for employees and dependents age 6+

Competitive global benefits

Benefits and details may vary based on country of employment and employment nature with Datadog.

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. In addition, Datadog offers a wide range of best in class, comprehensive and inclusive employee 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:$204,000—$255,000 USD

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. 

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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.

Source: Datadog careers

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