Research Manager - Post-Training for Agents

New York · USD 244,000-305,000 / year · Full-time · Hybrid · Posted Oct 13, 2026

At a glance

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.

As a Research Manager within Datadog AI Research (DAIR), you will lead a team working on fundamental research in post-training and autonomous agents while remaining deeply engaged in the technical direction of the work.
You will advance reinforcement learning, simulated environments, synthetic data generation, and evaluation methods for agents operating across complex real-world systems.
This role is designed for an exceptional researcher or technical leader who wants to maintain a strong hands-on research identity while developing and leading a high-performing team.

Lead research in agent post-training and reinforcement learning, setting the technical direction for ambitious research programs grounded in observability and security
Guide and mentor researchers and research engineers while remaining closely involved in research strategy, experimentation, model development, and technical problem-solving
Design and advance reinforcement learning approaches, post-training methods, and training loops for agents operating in complex environments
Build simulated environments, synthetic data generation approaches, and evaluation frameworks that enable scalable agent training and rigorous measurement
Collaborate with cross-functional teams across Research, Product, and Engineering to translate advances in autonomous agents into scalable Datadog capabilities
Contribute to research publications, present at top-tier conferences such as NeurIPS, ICLR, and ICML, and help open-source key model artifacts and benchmarks

You hold a PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, or have equivalent experience, with deep expertise in areas such as reinforcement learning, AI agents, post-training, or generative modeling
You have demonstrated the ability to lead technically ambitious research at meaningful scale, whether in an industry research lab, startup, academic environment, or another research setting
You have extensive hands-on experience designing or implementing reinforcement learning systems, agent training methods, simulated environments, synthetic data pipelines, or evaluation frameworks
You have a track record of research impact through influential publications, significant model or system contributions, widely used research artifacts, or equivalent technical achievements
You have operated at a senior technical level and have experience leading, mentoring, and developing teams of researchers or engineers, while remaining deeply hands-on in technical direction and execution
You want to develop and support a research team while maintaining a strong technical identity, and you can communicate complex research findings effectively across technical and non-technical audiences

Competitive global benefits
New hire stock equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
Opportunity to collaborate closely with colleagues across the Datadog offices in New York City and Paris
Opportunity to attend and present at conferences and meetups
Intra-departmental mentor and buddy program for in-house networking
Inclusive company culture, ability to join Community Guilds (Datadog employee resource groups)
Healthcare, dental, parental planning, and mental health benefits
401(k) plan and match
Paid time off
Fitness reimbursements