Counsel - AMER

the company is seeking an Employment Counsel to join our growing global Employment Legal team. In this role, you will serve as a trusted legal advisor to the People team, business leaders, and cross-functional partners on a broad range of employment law matters impacting our workforce and culture. While your primary focus will be supporting our U.S. operations, you will also contribute to global initiatives and projects as the company continues to scale.

This role offers the opportunity to influence strategic people decisions while partnering across a fast-paced, collaborative technology organization.

At the company, 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.

• Advise the People team and business leaders on a broad range of U.S. employment law matters, including recruiting, hiring, performance management, accommodations, leaves of absence, employee relations, investigations, compensation, terminations, restrictive covenants, and wage and hour compliance.

• Draft, review, and provide legal guidance on employment-related documents, including offer letters, contractor agreements, separation agreements, and employment policies.

• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, People, and business stakeholders to develop compliant employment practices and support strategic company initiatives.

• Provide employment law support throughout mergers, acquisitions, and post-close integration activities.

• Assess legal risk, recommend practical business solutions, and support decision-making on complex workforce matters.

• Monitor changes in employment laws and regulations and help implement policies and processes that promote ongoing compliance.

• J.D. from an accredited law school and an active member in good standing of a U.S. state bar (New York preferred).

• At least 4 years of experience practicing U.S. employment law, with prior in-house experience preferred.

• Able to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice while balancing legal risk with organizational objectives.

• An effective communicator who builds trusted relationships across Legal, People, and business teams and exercises sound judgment in ambiguous situations.

• Organized, collaborative, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

• International employment law, immigration, mobility, or multinational company experience is a plus.

• Generous and competitive global and U.S. benefits.

• New hire equity (RSUs) and employee stock purchase plan.

• Continuous career development and growth opportunities.

• Product training to build deep knowledge of the company's platform and technology.

• Comprehensive onboarding and mentorship programs.

• Cross-functional collaboration with experienced legal and business partners.

Benefits and Growth listed above may vary based on the country of your employment and the nature of your employment with the company.

#LI-Hybrid

the company 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, the company 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 the company is:

$171,000-$228,000 USD

the company is the leading observability and security platform for the AI era, providing businesses with unified visibility across the technology stack to manage complexity  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, the company enables businesses to move faster with clarity and…