At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and evolve backend systems for fraud detection and responsible gaming.
- Company: Join Fanatics, a leading global digital sports platform revolutionising sports betting.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, remote work options, and home office setup stipend.
- Other info: Dynamic team culture with opportunities for mentorship and career growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on customer safety and trust in sports betting.
- Qualifications: 7+ years in software engineering with expertise in Java and Spring Boot.
The predicted salary is between 118800 - 178200 £ per year.
About Us
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.
About the Team
Launched in 2021, Fanatics Betting and Gaming is the online and retail sports betting subsidiary of Fanatics, a global digital sports platform. The Fanatics Sportsbook is available to 95% of the addressable online sports bettor market in the U.S. Fanatics Casino is currently available online in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Fanatics Betting and Gaming operates twenty-two retail sports betting locations, including the only sportsbook inside an NFL stadium at Northwest Stadium. Fanatics Betting and Gaming is headquartered in New York with offices in Denver, Leeds and Dublin.
Overview
As a Staff Backend Engineer at Fanatics Betting & Gaming (FBG), you will be the architectural owner of backend systems that safeguard our customers and ensure a trusted, compliant, and frictionless betting experience. You will design and evolve large-scale distributed systems that power fraud detection and responsible gaming capabilities focused on customer identity, account management, and financial transactions across mobile and web platforms. This role blends deep backend technical expertise with architectural leadership.
You will define the long-term technical vision for fraud prevention, identity verification, and responsible gaming enforcement — ensuring our systems are secure, reliable, and adaptive to evolving threats and regulations. You’ll collaborate closely with Risk, Compliance, and Product partners to build a platform that balances safety, user trust, and operational efficiency. At FBG, we’re revolutionizing sports betting with a customer-first approach that prioritises integrity, fairness, and innovation. As a technical leader in the CAT (Customer, Accounts & Transactions) domain, you’ll help shape the foundation of trust and safety for millions of Fanatics customers.
Responsibilities
- Own and evolve the backend architecture that powers fraud detection and responsible gaming features.
- Design and implement distributed systems in Java and Spring Boot, building scalable services and APIs for real-time risk evaluation, transaction monitoring, and behavioural analysis.
- Collaborate with Data Science, Risk, and Compliance teams to integrate fraud prevention models, transaction scoring engines, and responsible gaming rulesets into core backend flows.
- Architect event-driven systems leveraging technologies like Kafka to capture and analyse transactional and behavioural signals in real time.
- Lead large-scale technical initiatives, such as the modernization of fraud detection services, identity platform evolution, or real-time customer protection pipelines.
- Establish backend and API best practices, emphasising security, observability, reliability, and compliance.
- Mentor and develop engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning.
- Partner with cross-functional teams—including frontend, mobile, product, and analytics—to ensure seamless and secure end-to-end user experiences.
- Champion responsible gaming and anti-fraud principles, helping define system patterns that promote fairness and regulatory alignment.
- Lead architectural reviews, incident postmortems, and design sessions, ensuring consistent improvement and knowledge sharing.
- Stay ahead of emerging fraud, identity, and responsible gaming technologies, and advocate for pragmatic adoption that strengthens our platform.
- Be open to occasional travel to Fanatics offices or industry events for planning, collaboration, and team development.
Required Qualifications
- 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with deep expertise in Java and Spring Boot.
- Proven ability to design and evolve secure, high-scale, low-latency distributed systems.
- Strong understanding of authentication, authorisation, payment systems, or fraud prevention patterns.
- Experience designing APIs and backend systems that integrate with risk, compliance, or regulatory services.
- Skilled at balancing performance, scalability, and compliance in high-traffic systems.
- Demonstrated success driving technical alignment and architectural strategy across multiple teams.
- Strong communicator who can clearly articulate complex technical solutions to engineering, product, and leadership audiences.
- Passion for customer protection, data integrity, and operational excellence.
- Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment with evolving priorities.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and observability tooling (Datadog, Grafana, CloudWatch).
- Familiarity with event-driven architectures, message streaming systems (Kafka), and real-time data pipelines.
- Exposure to machine learning integration for fraud detection or responsible gaming scoring.
- Experience building or modernising identity, payments, or compliance platforms.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives focused on trust, security, or user protection.
- Enthusiasm for developer experience, clean API design, and maintainable, resilient systems.
Remote employee may also be eligible for a home office setup stipend. 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 connection 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.
Salary Range £118,800 - £178,200 GBP
Staff Software Engineer - Fraud in London employer: Fanatics Betting & Gaming
At Fanatics, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that champions innovation and integrity in the fast-paced world of sports betting. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through mentorship opportunities and collaborative projects, while our remote work options provide flexibility for a healthy work-life balance. Join us in New York or work remotely from the UK, and be part of a team that values your contributions and prioritises the safety and satisfaction of millions of sports fans worldwide.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Staff Software Engineer - Fraud in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Fanatics Betting & Gaming or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
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✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
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We think you need these skills to ace Staff Software Engineer - Fraud in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Fanatics Betting & Gaming.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Fanatics Betting & Gaming and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Fanatics Betting & Gaming
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Fanatics Betting & Gaming uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
