At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to create innovative customer experiences using cutting-edge tech.
- Company: Join Fanatics, a leader in global digital sports platforms.
- Benefits: Enjoy remote work, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the exciting world of online gaming and sports.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in software development with expertise in Java/Kotlin and team leadership.
- Other info: Dynamic, collaborative environment with a focus on mentorship and career advancement.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 ÂŁ per year.
As a Senior Staff Engineer | Tech Lead at Fanatics, you are both a hands-on technical expert and a driving force behind the success of your team. You lead by influence—aligning engineers, product managers, designers, and backend partners to deliver exceptional customer-facing experiences with speed, quality, and purpose. You combine deep technical expertise with strong communication and relationship-building skills to guide the team through complex challenges, balance priorities, and maintain a high-performing, well-oiled product.
You will operate at both strategic and implementation levels—owning, designing and evolving robust Backend-For-Frontend (BFF) solutions that power personalisation and content delivery across our platforms. You are responsible for the scalability, performance, and long-term technical direction of the BFF layer that enables our mobile and web client experiences, while fostering collaboration across organizations to move the business forward. Your leadership sets the tone for excellence, reliability, and teamwork.
We own the iCasino experience across Fanatics platforms—including the Standalone Casino App, iCasino within our Fanatics Sportsbook & Casino App, and the Casino Desktop website. Each of these experiences is powered by Kotlin Multiplatform, and the BFF plays a critical role in delivering high-quality, consistent, and fast-paced innovation across all ecosystems. Our ambition is to build the top online casinos in the U.S—fun, dynamic, personalised, entertainment-focused products built with cutting-edge mobile technology.
Responsibilities- Lead the team in delivering high-impact customer-facing capabilities within the BFF, maintaining platform quality, guiding engineers through technical and execution decisions.
- Collaborate across engineering, product, design, and backend organizations to align goals, unblock dependencies, and ensure successful delivery.
- Drive the design, development, testing, and deployment of high quality, stable and scalable BFF services in Java and Kotlin that power Android, iOS, and web experiences.
- Balance short-term delivery needs with long-term architectural vision, ensuring maintainable, performant, and reusable service patterns.
- Lead feature delivery end-to-end, from ideation through launch and iteration, ensuring quality and velocity across platforms.
- Set and uphold engineering standards, development principles, and best practices for API design, service architecture, and BFF patterns.
- Champion collaboration and relationship-building within the team and across partner orgs, acting as a trusted technical liaison.
- Participate in sprint planning, architecture discussions, and design reviews, contributing technical insight and organizational leadership.
- Drive operational excellence—monitoring reliability, test coverage, and observability, and ensuring issues are resolved with ownership and urgency.
- Mentor engineers across multiple levels and platforms, modeling proactive communication, problem-solving, and accountability.
- Be open to occasional travel to Fanatics offices or events for planning, collaboration, and team-building activities.
- More than 10 years of experience building and maintaining production distributed systems.
- Deep expertise in Java and/or Kotlin and Spring Boot, with experience designing scalable APIs and service layers.
- Experience building or evolving Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) or client-facing service architectures.
- Experience partnering closely with mobile or web client teams to deliver performant, user-centric APIs.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional efforts and drive execution across teams without direct authority.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills—able to translate technical strategy into clear, actionable team direction.
- Proven success in Agile/SCRUM environments, balancing delivery speed with quality.
- A hands-on builder with a team-first mindset and a passion for coaching and elevating others.
- A Bachelor’s degree, or professional certification, or a combination of education and experience.
- Production experience with Kotlin in backend systems, or demonstrated interest in adopting Kotlin where appropriate.
- Experience in sports, gaming, fintech, or other regulated, high-velocity environments.
- Passion for developer experience, performance optimization, and platform tooling.
- Strong focus on clean API design, service maintainability, and scalable architecture patterns.
Not sure if you check every box? If you’re excited about this role, Kotlin Multiplatform, and building best-in-class mobile experiences, we encourage you to apply—even if you don’t meet every single qualification. We value passion, curiosity, and a growth mindset, and we believe great engineers come from diverse backgrounds and paths.
Please note, you do need to be living in the UK for this position and we do NOT offer sponsorship.
Senior Staff Engineer | Tech Lead- iCasino (UK - Remote) employer: Fanatics
Contact Detail:
Fanatics Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Staff Engineer | Tech Lead- iCasino (UK - Remote)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, especially those who work at Fanatics or similar companies. A friendly chat can open doors and give you insider info on the role.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Prepare a portfolio or a GitHub repository showcasing your best projects, especially those involving Java, Kotlin, or BFF architectures. This will help us see your hands-on experience in action.
✨Tip Number 3
Ace the interview by practising common technical questions and scenarios related to backend systems and API design. We want to see how you think and solve problems, so be ready to share your thought process!
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining our team at Fanatics.
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Staff Engineer | Tech Lead- iCasino (UK - Remote)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Senior Staff Engineer role. Highlight your expertise in Java, Kotlin, and any relevant BFF experience to catch our eye!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're excited about this position at Fanatics. Share your passion for building exceptional customer-facing experiences and how you can contribute to our iCasino team.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: Since this role involves leading teams, be sure to include examples of how you've successfully guided cross-functional efforts in the past. We love to see how you’ve influenced others without direct authority!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for this exciting opportunity with Fanatics!
How to prepare for a job interview at Fanatics
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Java and Kotlin skills, especially around Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) architectures. Be ready to discuss your past experiences in building scalable APIs and how you've tackled complex technical challenges.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
Prepare examples of how you've led cross-functional teams in the past. Highlight your ability to influence without authority and how you've successfully aligned engineers, product managers, and designers to achieve common goals.
✨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Practice explaining technical concepts in a way that's easy to understand. The interviewers will be looking for your communication skills, so be prepared to translate your technical expertise into actionable insights for the team.
✨Demonstrate Your Passion for Collaboration
Be ready to discuss how you've fostered collaboration within your teams and across organisations. Share specific instances where your relationship-building skills have led to successful project outcomes, as this role heavily relies on teamwork.