Staff Software Engineer - Security Agent
WFA Digital Insight
The intersection of security and software engineering is a critical one, and Datadog's Security Agent team is at the forefront. This role stands out for its focus on low-level Linux instrumentation and eBPF-based technologies, making it a unique challenge for experienced software engineers. With the opportunity to shape the future of Datadog's security platform, candidates should be prepared to drive technical direction and collaborate across multiple product teams.
Job Description
This role is part of Datadog’s Security Agent team, which powers critical security capabilities across Workload Protection, Vulnerability Management, Cloud Security products, and other emerging security offerings. As a Staff Software Engineer, you will lead the design and development of low-level Linux instrumentation and runtime security technologies that help customers detect threats, monitor system activity, and protect cloud-native workloads at scale. You will work on complex technical challenges involving eBPF, Linux kernel internals, performance-sensitive systems, and large-scale data collection while influencing technical direction across multiple product teams. This role offers significant ownership, broad organizational impact, and the opportunity to shape the future of Datadog’s security platform.
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 architecture and development of security agent capabilities that power runtime threat detection and workload protection across Datadog Security products.
- Design and build reusable eBPF-based monitoring functionality for process, file, and network visibility within Linux environments.
- Drive end-to-end delivery of new features, from technical strategy and design through implementation, testing, and rollout.
- Establish and evolve testing methodologies that improve platform coverage, detection quality, reliability, and performance.
- Partner with product, security, infrastructure, and engineering teams to deliver shared platform capabilities used across multiple Datadog products.
- Provide technical leadership by influencing engineering direction, mentoring peers, and helping resolve complex cross-functional challenges.
Who You Are:
- You have significant experience building software in Linux environments, including knowledge of Linux internals, kernel APIs, or systems programming.
- You have hands-on experience with eBPF, kernel-level instrumentation, driver development, networking systems, agent development, or related low-level technologies.
- You've built and run systems where performance and reliability actually matter.
- You have experience building and maintaining production software across diverse Linux distributions and kernel versions.
- You are product-minded and customer-focused, balancing technical excellence with customer impact and usability.
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.
How to Stand Out
- Highlight your experience with eBPF and low-level Linux technologies in your resume and cover letter, as these are critical skills for the role.
- Prepare to talk about your approach to security and software engineering, including your experience with threat detection, vulnerability management, and secure coding practices.
- Showcase your problem-solving skills by providing examples of complex technical challenges you have overcome in previous roles.
- Emphasize your ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with cross-functional teams, including product, security, and engineering teams.
- Be prepared to discuss your experience with agile development methodologies and version control systems, as these are used extensively at Datadog.
- Research Datadog's products and services to understand the company's mission and how the Security Agent team contributes to it.
- Practice your coding skills and be prepared to complete technical challenges as part of the interview process.
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