Datadog
Large (~6,000)
Helsing
Mid (~660)
Best For
Datadog
Best for: Engineers who want strong comp and interesting scale challenges in cloud observability
Helsing
Best for: AI/ML engineers motivated by national security and defense who want to apply frontier AI to high-stakes real-world problems in a mission-driven team
Ratings
DatadogHelsing
4.2
4.0
Overall
3.8
3.6
Work-Life Balance
4.3
4.1
Culture & Values
4.4
4.0
Comp & Benefits
3.8
3.8
Senior Mgmt
4.0
3.8
Career Opps
👍 80% Recommend
👤 87% CEO Approval (Olivier Pomel)
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (Gundbert Scherf)
Culture Values
Datadog only
No unique values
Helsing only
No unique values
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🌱 Learning & Growth🎯 Direct Product Impact💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Pros & Cons
Datadog
- Excellent compensation and equity — stock has been a genuine wealth builder for early employees
- Strong engineering culture with smart coworkers and interesting technical challenges at scale
- Fast pace can lead to long hours and pressure to deliver, work-life balance varies by team
- Rapid growth has led to organizational growing pains and bureaucracy creeping in
Helsing
- Highest talent density of any tech company — world-class AI and engineering leadership
- Extremely important mission with rewarding impact and competitive salary
- Ridiculous expectations of work hours — high salaries do not mean constant overtime
- Some management not experienced enough to lead; lacking in performance feedback
Bottom Line
Datadog
Choose Datadog if you want strong comp, interesting scale challenges in observability, and a fast-paced engineering culture — but expect long hours and growing bureaucracy.
Helsing
Strong engineering culture with a clear mission — but that mission (AI for defense) is not for everyone. Research the ethics carefully before applying; those aligned will find unusually meaningful work.
Open Roles
Datadog — 433 jobs
💼 Sales / GTM
208
💻 Engineering
112
📋 Product
26
📣 Marketing
16
👤 HR / People
8
🧠 ML / AI
8
🎨 Design
5
⚙️ Operations
5
⚖️ Legal
3
📊 Data
1
💰 Finance
1
Helsing — 103 jobs
💻 Engineering
51
🧠 ML / AI
8
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
💰 Finance
3
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
👤 HR / People
1
💼 Sales / GTM
1
🎧 Support
1
Summary
Datadog scores 4.2/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.8 work-life balance rating. Helsing scores 4.0/5.0 overall with a 3.6 WLB. That’s a 0.2-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Learning & Growth, Direct Product Impact, Strong Comp & Equity.
On the hiring front, Datadog has 433 open roles and Helsing has 103 open roles.