Software Engineer II - Distributed Systems

Software Engineer II - Distributed Systems

Overview

At Fanatics Betting & Gaming (FBG), you’ll join a team that turns raw sports data into rich, real-time product experiences across Sportsbook and Casino. We build the APIs, data pipelines, and service layers behind personalized recommendations, live search, and lightning-fast betting interfaces used by millions of fans.

We treat AI as a standard tool in the developer toolbox (not a novelty). As a Software Engineer II, you’ll apply our team’s AI-assisted development practices (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot) to ship faster without sacrificing correctness. You’ll help design and scale backend services that bridge live sports data, internal content systems, and customer-facing applications, working closely with senior engineers, data scientists, and product managers. This role is ideal for someone growing from “solid backend contributor” to “reliable owner of real-time, data-driven services.”

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and deploy scalable backend services and REST/gRPC APIs powering search, live odds, box scores, and event tracking.
• Use AI assistants throughout the SDLC (specs, scaffolding, tests, docs), while validating outputs via checklists, unit/integration tests, and code review.
• Implement production-grade patterns: idempotent handlers, retries with jitter, backpressure, schema evolution, and safe migrations.
• Collaborate with senior engineers to understand data pipelines, dependencies, SLAs/SLOs, and product requirements; break work into measurable increments.
• Participate in on-call rotation; triage, debug, and resolve production issues using tracing, logs, and metrics; write post-incident follow-ups.
• Contribute to architecture discussions, sprint planning, and design docs; propose pragmatic improvements that raise the team’s delivery speed and safety.
• Build observability into everything (RED/USE metrics, tracing, actionable alerts) and instrument latency/error/throughput KPIs.
• Follow our AI-assisted PR (AIPR) process: add an AIPR note, include validation steps, attach tests/benchmarks, and tag the PR for metrics.
• Help maintain prompt snippets and “gotchas” in the team’s AI playbook; surface pitfalls (e.g., over-abstraction, missing edge cases, secret handling).
• Develop domain fluency (sports event hierarchies, feeds, data quality) and how correctness/latency impact user trust and conversion.
• Stay current with backend trends in distributed systems, cloud-native infra, data APIs, and AI-augmented engineering workflows.
• Occasional travel to FBG offices or industry events for collaboration and team-building.

Required Qualifications

• 2–5 years building backend systems or APIs in high-throughput or data-rich environments.
• 2+ years with Kotlin/Spring Boot; familiarity with reactive/non-blocking patterns is a plus.
• Experience with event-driven systems (Kafka or similar) and at least one database (PostgreSQL or MongoDB) plus caching (Redis).
• Solid grasp of microservices design and API fundamentals (REST/gRPC, pagination, auth, rate limiting, idempotency).
• Comfort with observability practices (logs/metrics/traces), CI/CD, automated testing (unit/integration/contract), and Agile workflows.
• Hands-on use of AI coding tools (Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) to accelerate delivery—able to explain when they helped, when they hurt, and how you verified outputs.
• Security hygiene: secrets handling, PII awareness, and adherence to data-usage rules when using AI tools.
• Clear written and verbal communication in a remote-first environment; collaborative, ownership-oriented mindset.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cloud experience (GCP/AWS) and/or Kubernetes; infrastructure as code familiarity.
• Tooling/data stack exposure: Snowflake, Databricks, protobuf/Avro + Schema Registry, OpenTelemetry, k6/Vegeta for load testing.
• Kotlin experience; protobuf/gRPC familiarity; knowledge of schema migration strategies and blue/green or canary deploys.
• Background in startup-like environments or 0→1 initiatives; comfort iterating quickly with guardrails.
• Interest in sports/gaming, fintech, Generative AI, recommendation systems, or personalization at scale.

AI Workflow

During interviews, be prepared to:

• Walk through your current AI-assisted workflow (tools, prompts, settings) and a recent PR where AI saved time.
• Show how you validated AI-generated code (tests, checklists, benchmarks) and caught an edge case or security concern.

The expected salary range for this role is based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This role is eligible for the Fanatics Betting and Gaming annual bonus program and an equity award. *Salary range is listed in USD; actual salary will vary based on location. *Salary Range: $108,000 - $186,000 per year (actual salary will be determined in part by a successful candidate’s geographic location). In addition to base salary, bonus, and equity, full-time employees are eligible for Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, paid time off, and other benefits like GymPass, Pet Insurance, Family Care Benefits, and more. Remote employee may also be eligible for a home office setup stipend. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This is a remote position; however, candidates must reside in one of the following states: AL, AZ, GA, IA, IN, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NH, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI, WV. Alternatively, we are open to a hybrid role based in Denver, CO.

Overview

As a Software Engineer II at Fanatics Betting & Gaming (FBG), you’ll be joining a group of engineers responsible for transforming raw data into rich, real-time product experiences across Sportsbook and Casino. Our mission is to build foundational APIs, data pipelines, and service layers that power personalized recommendations, live search, and betting interfaces used by millions of fans. As part of this team, you'll help design and scale backend services that bridge the gap between live sports data, internal content systems, and customer-facing applications. You'll work closely with engineers, data scientists, and product managers to build reliable, low-latency systems that deliver accurate and timely sports experiences — from live odds and search results to real-time box scores. This role is perfect for someone who’s building on existing backend experience and wants to deepen their expertise in data-driven systems while solving complex technical problems in a fast-moving, high-impact space.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and deploy scalable backend services and RESTful APIs that drive real-time features like search, box scores, and live event tracking
• Collaborate closely with senior engineers and product teams to understand data pipelines, system dependencies, and product requirements
• Participate in the on-call rotation and help triage, debug, and resolve issues in production systems
• Contribute to service architecture, sprint planning, and long-term technical decisions
• Participate in code reviews to ensure quality, maintainability, and shared learning
• Build observability into everything you create — we value proactive monitoring and actionable alerts
• Develop a growing understanding of our domain — from sports event hierarchies to how data quality impacts user trust
• Stay current with backend trends and tooling, especially in distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure, and data APIs
• Open to occasional travel to FBG offices or industry events for collaboration and team-building

Required Qualifications

• 3–7 years of professional experience building backend systems or APIs, ideally in fast-paced or data-rich environments
• 2+ years of experience with Java (Spring Boot preferred); experience with Kafka, Databricks, and Snowflake are a plus
• Strong understanding of microservices architecture and REST API design principles
• Experience working with databases (MongoDB, or similar) and comfortable with data modeling and caching strategies
• Familiarity with system observability practices (logs, metrics, traces), CI/CD pipelines, and Agile workflows
• You’re a problem solver and collaborator — comfortable taking ownership, navigating ambiguity, and working across teams
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, especially in remote-first settings

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to cloud platforms (GCP, AWS) or Kubernetes-based infrastructure
• Experience in data-focused services: indexing pipelines, search APIs, data quality frameworks, or real-time feeds
• Interest in building systems that balance scale, speed, and accuracy — especially in live sports or gaming contexts
• Previous work in startup-like environments or experience iterating quickly on 0→1 initiatives
• Passion for clean code, system design, and mentoring others where possible
• General interest in Sports, Casino, Generative AI, and Recommendation Systems

Ready to build the future of sports betting? If you possess some of these skills but not all of them, we still encourage you to apply!

The expected salary range for this role is based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This role is eligible for the Fanatics Betting and Gaming annual bonus program and an equity award. *Salary range is listed in USD; actual salary will vary based on location. *Salary Range: $144,000 - $216,000 per year (actual salary will be determined in part by a successful candidate’s geographic location). In addition to base salary, bonus, and equity, full-time employees are eligible for Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, paid time off, and other benefits like GymPass, Pet Insurance, Family Care Benefits, and more. Remote employee may also be eligible for a home office setup stipend. Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This is a remote position; however, candidates must reside in one of the following states: AL, AZ, GA, IA, IN, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NH, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI, WV. Alternatively, we are open to a hybrid role based in Denver, CO.