Job description

The way products get built is changing. Agents write a growing share of shipped interfaces, designers work in code, and a design system's output is bigger than a component library. At Datadog we're redefining ours for that world, and evolving how the product looks and feels at the same time. DRUIDS is the design system behind every Datadog surface, used daily by more than a hundred designers and thousands of engineers across thirty-plus products. You'll lead the team that owns it: designers and design engineers who set the system's direction, hold the quality bar for what ships, and build the tools that make designing in code the default way to work. The team partners closely with product designers, frontend engineers and PMs across the company. This is a hands-on leadership role in a technical, engineering-forward company. You'll be expected to have a point of view and defend it, to be the person the design org asks about quality, and to make the call when work isn't good enough yet. Much of what a design system should be right now hasn't been settled — here or anywhere else. If you're a designer who never stopped making things, and you'd rather decide what a system should be than maintain one that already exists, this is the role. 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 team and set its direction Decide what DRUIDS owns, what it ships, and what stays with product teams. Own where the system goes next. Have a view on what a design system should be, and argue for it. Turn direction into a roadmap, and work with partners on what gets built and when. Coach the designers and design engineers on your team, be clear about what each person owns, and hire as the team grows. Own craft and quality Own the craft and quality of components, patterns, and principles. Decide what's good enough to go into DRUIDS. Raise the quality of the product through the system, and through the way design gets made here. Say when work isn't good enough. Own the tooling the system runs on Own the tooling that makes the system usable, and the workflows people use to build with it. Work out how design quality gets evaluated, by people and by agents, and where that belongs in how software gets shipped. Decide what the system ships beyond components, and which formats and surfaces it needs to reach. Stay close to product design Keep a pulse on what’s getting built and where teams are struggling. Define how the system shows up for product teams — the touchpoints, relationships and working models needed to support them. Make the system something teams want to use. Who You Are You have 8+ years in product design, 3+ of them managing. You've managed a design system team and grown it. You read and write front-end code, and can have conversations about it. You design, have opinions and a point of view. You are a clear communicator. Your feedback improves quality and direction. You can build relationships with fellow leaders and influence them You've developed reports, and you've handled people who weren't performing. You want to work in an engineering-forward company. About Datadog 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) Access to Inclusion Talks, our internal panel discussions Free, global mental health benefits for employees and dependents age 6+ Competitive global benefits Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with Datadog. #LI-HYBRID 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. 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 .

Requirements

Must-haves

Lead the team and set its direction
Decide what DRUIDS owns, what it ships, and what stays with product teams.
Own where the system goes next. Have a view on what a design system should be, and argue for it.
Turn direction into a roadmap, and work with partners on what gets built and when.
Coach the designers and design engineers on your team, be clear about what each person owns, and hire as the team grows.
Own craft and quality
Own the craft and quality of components, patterns, and principles.
Decide what's good enough to go into DRUIDS.
Raise the quality of the product through the system, and through the way design gets made here.
Say when work isn't good enough.
Own the tooling the system runs on
Own the tooling that makes the system usable, and the workflows people use to build with it.
Work out how design quality gets evaluated, by people and by agents, and where that belongs in how software gets shipped.
Decide what the system ships beyond components, and which formats and surfaces it needs to reach.
Stay close to product design
Keep a pulse on what’s getting built and where teams are struggling.
Define how the system shows up for product teams — the touchpoints, relationships and working models needed to support them.
Make the system something teams want to use.
You have 8+ years in product design, 3+ of them managing.
You've managed a design system team and grown it.
You read and write front-end code, and can have conversations about it.
You design, have opinions and a point of view.
You are a clear communicator.
Your feedback improves quality and direction.

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

design systemgoaiaccessibility

Platform: greenhouse
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Professional Development