Senior Corporate Development Lead, AI
Datadog
$213,000 - $284,000 / year
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Description
Datadog is seeking a highly motivated Senior Corporate Development Lead to drive our AI product strategy, build strong relationships across the founder and VC ecosystem, and support high-impact initiatives including acquisitions, venture investments, and startup partnerships.
You will be part of a small, high-visibility team that reports directly to Datadog’s Founder/CEO. The ideal candidate is passionate about AI and developer tools, comfortable rolling up their sleeves, and excited to operate in a fluid, technically demanding environment. You will support evaluations, source promising AI startups, collaborate closely with internal product and engineering leaders, and help position Datadog as the preferred partner for the next generation of founders.
This role is ideal for someone who is hungry for increased responsibility, operates with authenticity and creativity, and prioritizes the company’s interests.
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:
Support Datadog’s AI product strategy by analyzing emerging technologies, market opportunities, and competitive dynamics.
Source high-potential AI startups for acquisition, investment, or partnership, and build a strong presence across the founder and VC ecosystem.
Attend meetups, conferences, and ecosystem events to expand Datadog’s visibility and pipeline opportunities.
Drive workstreams across diligence, valuation, financial modeling, strategic assessment, and internal recommendations.
Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to evaluate build/buy/partner opportunities aligned with Datadog’s AI roadmap.
Support negotiation processes, including term sheets and partnership structures.
Collaborate on integration planning with cross-functional partners after acquisitions or strategic deals.
Help attract early-stage AI companies into Datadog’s startup program.
Who You Are:
Demonstrated technical knowledge through past experience (software engineering, product management, VC, etc.) or a degree in Computer Science (or equivalent).
Some experience with financial modeling, forecasting, or analysis (willingness to learn; we can teach you).
Excited about building and maintaining a strong network across founders, VCs, and the broader AI ecosystem.
Self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous, and technically challenging environments.
Excellent prioritization and ability to operate across multiple complex stakeholders and projects.
Strong communication skills and enthusiasm for developing negotiation capabilities.
Benefits and Growth:
- Best-in-breed onboarding
- Generous global benefits
- Intra-departmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking
- New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
- Continuous professional development, product training, and career pathing
- An inclusive company culture, able to join our Community Guilds and Inclusion Talks
Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment 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.
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.
Benefits
- Best-in-breed onboarding
- Generous global benefits
- Intra-departmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking
- New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
- Continuous professional development, product training, and career pathing
- An inclusive company culture, able to join our Community Guilds and Inclusion Talks
About this role
Datadog's Corporate Development team is looking for someone to shape the company's AI strategy through sourcing, evaluating, and executing on acquisitions, investments, and partnerships with early-stage AI companies. You'd work directly with the founder/CEO in a small, high-visibility group, attending ecosystem events, building relationships with founders and VCs, and conducting diligence on potential deals. The role blends strategic analysis with hands-on execution—financial modeling, negotiation support, and cross-functional collaboration with product and engineering teams to assess build/buy/partner decisions.
This is best suited for someone with technical depth (whether from software engineering, product management, or VC experience) who's comfortable in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and excited about the AI space and developer tools. You'll need strong prioritization skills to juggle multiple complex stakeholders and projects, a willingness to learn financial modeling, and genuine enthusiasm for building a network across the startup and investor ecosystem. The position offers equity, comprehensive benefits, and the chance to operate at a strategic level early in your corporate development career.
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Pay for this role
$213,000 to $284,000 per year
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