Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.
Director, Software Engineering
Fanatics Markets is the real-money prediction and trading app where you can invest in moments you care about. Built on a secure platform, we let users predict real-world outcomes and trade on events they actually follow, from sports and entertainment to political elections and beyond. Our mission is to redefine how fans engage with the moments and markets that matter most. We're looking for the right people to help us build the future of prediction markets.
Overview
We are looking for a Director of Software Engineering to lead our core FMX trading team. You will own the delivery, culture, and growth of your team as we build a regulated trading platform from scratch, managing a group of 5 to 8 engineers.
This is a hands-on leadership role: you will be deeply involved in technical direction while fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. You will partner closely with FMX leadership, compliance, and our existing Fanatics Markets web engineering organisation to establish ways of working that can support 24/7 trading operations.
We're pioneering the use of AI as a code collaborator across all of engineering. We need leaders who actively champion AI-assisted development, helping their teams adopt tools like Claude Code, Codex, or GitHub Copilot to maximise delivery velocity without compromising quality or regulatory compliance.
Responsibilities:
- Lead your team in exploring and applying new technologies and practices, cultivating a culture of innovation and continuous improvement to deliver a world-class regulated trading platform.
- Collaborate closely with Product, Compliance, and other engineering leaders to develop cohesive solutions aligned with FMX strategic objectives and regulatory obligations.
- Use data and metrics to guide your team's decision-making, tracking delivery velocity, reliability SLOs, and compliance posture as core team health indicators.
- Champion a metrics-driven culture focused on measurable impact, from system uptime and latency to audit trail completeness and daily reporting accuracy.
- Invest in the growth and success of your team, offer mentorship, support career development, and help shape the next generation of engineering leaders within FMX.
- Oversee the development of scalable, reliable systems while driving modernisation of the Java codebase and new development in Go, Java and Kotlin.
- Own engineering processes appropriate for a 24/7 regulated trading environment, sprint planning, on-call rotations, incident response, code review standards, and change management.
- Build strong cross-functional partnerships with legal, compliance, and the wider Fanatics engineering organisation to influence technical and product direction.
- Communicate complex technical concepts and regulatory requirements with clarity and confidence to stakeholders at all levels, including executive leadership.
- Champion the use of AI-assisted development tools across your team, setting the standard for responsible adoption that meets regulated-environment quality and security requirements.
- Stay on top of industry trends in regulated trading infrastructure and prediction markets, bringing fresh ideas that elevate team performance.
- Be open to occasional travel for offsites, cross-team collaboration, or regulatory engagements.
Qualifications:
- 5+ years of experience in engineering leadership, with a strong ability to mentor, grow talent, and inspire technical excellence.
- 10+ years of experience in software engineering, ideally with a backend focus (Java, Go, or similar).
- Background in regulated financial infrastructure strongly preferred, brokerage systems, futures or derivatives exchanges, or comparable regulated environments.
- Experience designing and operating production systems with high-availability requirements (24/7 uptime, low-latency, mission-critical).
- Solid understanding of compliance obligations in regulated markets, including data sensitivity controls and insider trading restrictions.
- Deep understanding of Agile and Scrum, with the agility to adapt in a fast-evolving 0 to 1 environment.
- A history of successfully delivering complex, scalable solutions with a focus on reliability and correctness.
- Excellent communication, influencing, and problem-solving skills, equally comfortable with engineers, compliance teams, and executive stakeholders.
- Experience leading distributed or remote teams across multiple time zones.
- Demonstrated experience using or evangelising AI development tools (Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, etc.) within an engineering team.
- Degree in Computer Science or similar, or equivalent experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Previous experience at a US-regulated financial exchange or licensed trading platform
- Familiarity with event-driven architectures in a financial context (Kafka, Kinesis, or similar).
- Experience with prediction markets or futures/options trading platforms.
- Previous experience in a 01 or high-growth startup environment.
Depending on the role, your interview and onboarding experience may include in-person components, such as onsite interviews or Launching into Better: LIVE—a multi-day cultural immersion in New York City for full-time, non-seasonal hires. These sessions are designed to build connections and bring our culture to life, though specific travel and participation requirements will be confirmed based on your role and location. Your recruiter will provide clear guidance at each stage of the process.
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! Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this position. We are open to fully remote candidates based in the United Kingdom. Remote employees may also be eligible for a home office setup stipend.
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