Manager II, Developer Advocacy - Community | Datadog NEW

The Briefed; United States; Remote; USD 212,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health coverage

Dental & vision

401(k) with match

Stock RSUs

ESPP

Mental health benefits

Professional development

Parental planning support

Job summary

Datadog is seeking a Manager II on the Advocacy team to lead a global group of Developer Advocates. You will scale community programs and empower customer engineers to share expertise through writing, speaking, and leadership.

The role blends leadership, strategy, technical judgment, and cross-functional influence to amplify customer voices and inform product direction. You will coach speakers for DASH and external conferences, shape program roadmaps, and partner with Product, Engineering,

Qualifications

• Proven track record as a people manager leading autonomous technical professionals.
• Experience defining and delivering Developer Advocacy or DevRel programs.
• Background enabling external engineers to contribute content and lead communities.
• Technical judgment to evaluate engineering narratives and provide coaching.
• Hands-on speaker coaching for conference talks and blogs.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Developer Advocates and set clear expectations.
• Own Community Advocacy strategy with roadmaps, metrics, and program outcomes.
• Guide Ambassador, Champion, and User Group programs with contributor journeys and resources.
• Oversee conference talks, blogs, and content coaching for DAG and external events.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Events, and Customer Success to align priorities.

Skills

People leadership

DevRel programs

Community strategy

Speaker coaching

Cross-functional influence

Job description

As Manager II on the Advocacy team leading Community Advocacy functions, you will manage a global team of Developer Advocates responsible for programs such as Datadog Ambassadors, Champions, and User Groups. In this strategic management position, your team will build repeatable systems that empower customer engineers and technical practitioners to share their expertise through technical writing, public speaking, and community leadership. Combining people leadership, program strategy, technical judgment, and cross-functional influence, you will amplify authentic customer voices, deepen community understanding of Datadog’s platform, and oversee speaker coaching for Datadog’s flagship user conference, DASH, as well as third-party industry events.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Program Strategy

• People Management & Talent Development: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Developer Advocates—setting clear expectations, guiding career growth, and fostering an inclusive, autonomous team culture.
• Community Advocacy Strategy: Own the strategy, roadmaps, and quantitative/qualitative success metrics for Community Advocacy, translating broader company priorities into focused community programs.
• Ambassador & User Group Programs: Guide the evolution of Datadog's Ambassador, Champion, and User Group programs—establishing contributor journeys, enablement resources, recognition frameworks, and impact opportunities.

Technical Content, Speaker Coaching & Cross-Functional Alignment

• Practitioner Content & Speaker Coaching: Oversee the co-development, technical review, and coaching of conference talks, blogs, and content delivered by customer engineers for DASH and external industry conferences.
• Customer Story Pipeline: Develop systematic pipelines to identify compelling technical practitioners, helping them shape authentic, technically credible narratives around observability and security.
• Cross-Functional Partnership: Partner closely with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Events, and Customer Success teams to align priorities, scale customer participation, and funnel community feedback directly to product managers.
• Strategic & Selective Hands-On Contribution: Balance people management with selective hands-on advocacy—including speaker coaching, technical content reviews, and representing Datadog in community forums.

Requirements

People Leadership & Technical Community Experience

• People Leadership: Proven track record as a people manager leading autonomous technical professionals, coaching performance, and translating complex organizational goals into execution plans.
• DevRel / Community Track Record: Proven experience defining and delivering successful Developer Advocacy, Developer Relations (DevRel), or technical community functions.
• External Practitioner Enablement: Demonstrated background building or scaling programs that enable external engineers to contribute technical content, present talks, or lead local communities.
• Technical Background & Judgment: Former software developer, Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), or technical practitioner (or equivalent technical depth) with the judgment required to evaluate technical accuracy and coach complex engineering narratives.
• Speaker Coaching Skills: Hands-on experience helping technical practitioners craft and deliver conference presentations, abstracts, and technical content.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Proven ability to build consensus and influence cross-functional decisions across Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Customer Success orgs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or managing Ambassador/Champion programs within enterprise cloud, observability, SRE, or DevOps ecosystems.
• Direct involvement in organizing or curation for major tech conferences (e.g., DASH, KubeCon, AWS re:Invent).

Total Rewards & Benefits

• Compensation & Equity: Annual salary range ($212,000 – $265,000 USD) + variable compensation + new hire stock equity (RSUs) + Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).
• Healthcare & Mental Health: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage starting day one, plus free global mental health benefits for employees and dependents age 6+.
• Retirement & Perks: 401(k) plan with company match, fitness reimbursements, and parental planning support.
• Growth & Inclusion: Mentorship and buddy programs, continuous professional development, product training, and access to internal Community Guilds and Inclusion Talks.