Staff Software Engineer, AI/ML

Dive in and do the best work of your career at DigitalOcean. Journey alongside a strong community of top talent who are relentless in their drive to build the simplest scalable cloud. If you have a growth mindset, naturally like to think big and bold, and are energized by the fast-paced environment of a true industry disruptor, you’ll find your place here. We value winning together—while learning, having fun, and making a profound difference for the dreamers and builders in the world. 

We are looking for a Staff Product Manager to own the strategic vision, development, and execution of DigitalOcean's Data and AI platform. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role: you will define what we build, shape how we go to market, and drive the roadmap for our next-generation data infrastructure — a foundation that powers everything from traditional analytics to modern AI-driven applications at scale.

Data platforms have fundamentally changed. They are no longer just for reporting — they are the source of truth for AI agents, the home for vector embeddings, and the foundation for RAG-based knowledge bases. As Staff PM, you will own the core product strategy at this intersection, shaping how DigitalOcean develops, prices, and positions its data offerings as customer demand evolves toward vector databases, knowledge bases, a semantic layer for consistent metrics across agents and human interactions, and integrated AI capabilities. You will operate at the intersection of customer needs, market realities, and complex technical execution — bridging Engineering, Infrastructure, and Go-to-Market teams to ship products customers trust in production.

What You'll Do

• Define and drive the multi-year product strategy and roadmap for DigitalOcean's Data and AI portfolio, spanning traditional analytics through modern AI-driven infrastructure.


• Lead development of next-generation data primitives — including vector databases, knowledge bases, MCP integrations, and open table formats like Apache Iceberg — to power RAG workflows and agentic long-term memory.


• Conduct deep market and competitive analysis to shape pricing, positioning, and go-to-market strategies in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.


• Collaborate cross-functionally with Engineering, Infrastructure, and Capacity Planning to deliver scalable, reliable data solutions that customers rely on for production workloads.


• Serve as the voice of the customer, gathering feedback to prioritize features that reduce operational complexity across the full data product lifecycle.


• Define and track key performance metrics — utilization, reliability, deployment velocity — to evaluate product success and guide roadmap decisions.

What You'll Add to DigitalOcean

• 7+ years of product management experience with a focus on cloud-native data platforms, managed databases, or large-scale analytics infrastructure.


• Proven expertise in the full lifecycle of data or AI products — from concept and pricing through large-scale deployment.


• Deep technical fluency in modern data patterns: vector embeddings, knowledge bases, SQL-based analytics, data lake architectures (Iceberg), and the emerging AI agent ecosystem (MCP).


• Demonstrated ability to communicate strategic decisions to C-level executives and build alignment across diverse technical and business stakeholders.


• Demonstrated ability to present complex technical and strategic topics to diverse audiences, including industry conferences and executive stakeholders.


• Strong analytical background with experience in capacity planning, scaling economics, and competitive pricing models for cloud services.


• High ownership mindset with a track record of navigating complex technical constraints to deliver measurable customer value.


• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience building technical products.

Compensation Range: 

• $186,400 - $233,000

*This is a hybrid role

JR: 2026-7911

#LI-Hybrid

Why You’ll Like Working for DigitalOcean

• We innovate with purpose. You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge technology company with an upward trajectory, who are proud to simplify cloud and AI so builders can spend more time creating software that changes the world. As a member of the team, you will be a Shark who thinks big, bold, and scrappy, like an owner with a bias for action and a powerful sense of responsibility for customers, products, employees, and decisions.


• We prioritize career development. At DO, you’ll do the best work of your career. You will work with some of the smartest and most interesting people in the industry. We are a high-performance organization that will always challenge you to think big. Our organizational development team will provide you with resources to ensure you keep growing. We provide employees with reimbursement for relevant conferences, training, and education. All employees have access to LinkedIn Learning's 10,000+ courses to support their continued growth and development.


• We care about your well-being.  Regardless of your location, we will provide you with a competitive array of benefits to support you from our Employee Assistance Program to Local Employee Meetups to flexible time off policy, to name a few. While the philosophy around our benefits is the same worldwide, specific benefits may vary based on local regulations and preferences.


• We reward our employees. The salary range for this position is based on market data, relevant years of experience, and skills. You may qualify for a bonus in addition to base salary; bonus amounts are determined based on company and individual performance. We also provide equity compensation to eligible employees, including equity grants upon hire and the option to participate in our Employee Stock Purchase Program.


• DigitalOcean is an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.

Application Limit: You may apply to a maximum of 3 positions within any 180-day period. This policy promotes better role-candidate matching and encourages thoughtful applications where your qualifications align most strongly.