Staff Engineer, Operations Tech

Job Description

_Background

_Fanatics Collectibles Engineering is building products to transform the trading card industry and while we may be a growing team building new and evolving legacy digital products, we also have the backing of Fanatics – the world’s largest sports merchandiser with over 900 sports relationships and more than 81 million reachable fans. We have exclusive licensing deals with the MLB, NFL and NBA and the products we build will be used by millions of trading cards fans from day 1. We are out to reinvent the trading card industry, which is a bold and ambitious mission.

What does this mean as a member of the engineering team?

• We move fast. We have a lot to do and are looking for folks who will drive projects to completion with a sense of urgency, but not at the expense of quality, scalability, and performance. We understand that we’ll be responsible for maintaining these projects for the foreseeable future and how investments in quality today allow you to move more quickly tomorrow.
• We think about scale. The trading card market is large and we will be the de facto entry point into the hobby, and that modern consumers expect nothing less than the real time flow of information when interacting with technology today.
• We’re pragmatic. We embrace new technologies but focus on using the best tool for the job.
• We are flexible. The industry moves quickly and shifts continuously. We ensure that we are building systems to accomplish the next goal, not those focused on the last one.

The Role

We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to act as a technical leader for a team composed of multiple functional pods, including Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Manufacturing. In this role, you will support engineers across these pods by providing technical guidance, architectural direction, and hands-on assistance, while helping ensure the systems we build are reliable, scalable, and maintainable.

This role may also serve as the technical lead for specific initiatives. As a technical lead, you will guide projects from planning through delivery, including attending and contributing to project meetings, partnering closely with product management to define scope and approach, breaking work down into executable plans, and designing the technical architecture for the systems being built.

Staff Engineers at Fanatics Collectibles are expected to remain hands-on contributors. You will write production code and implement key parts of the system, particularly in areas that are complex, high-impact, or require deep technical context. The amount of hands-on development will vary over time based on project needs, but candidates should expect to spend up to roughly half of their time writing code.

In addition to individual contribution, this role carries meaningful leadership responsibilities. You will support other engineers as they work through implementation, help unblock delivery, review designs and code, and ensure projects are delivered successfully. You will also contribute to broader technical decision-making and alignment across the team.

Beyond project delivery, this role will help improve the overall effectiveness of the team. You will contribute to strengthening on-call and production support practices, improving the developer experience, and enabling the thoughtful adoption of new tools and capabilities, including emerging technologies such as AI-powered development tools.

_Some indicators that this role may be a good fit for you:

_

• Over 10 years of software engineering experience
• Experience designing software and working with teams that are responsible for supply chain, logistics or industrial manufacturing in a mid-sized to large business.
• You’ve previously acted as the technical lead for large multi-month initiatives while working closely with a Product Manager and stakeholders from early discovery to implementation and delivery
• Designing or operating event-based systems leveraging event-sourcing is a significant plus.
• Strong track record of integrating AI-assisted tools into daily development workflows to improve throughput and quality, while retaining ownership of technical decisions and outcomes.
• Experience delivering and maintaining production applications in Elixir, Phoenix, and LiveView is not required but highly desirable. Experience with other languages like Typescript, Ruby, Python or other similar languages is also acceptable.
• You demonstrate a unique and extraordinarily effective problem-solving perspective and approach.
• You’re constantly thinking about how your work and experience can help make other engineers and teams more productive.
• Experience working across domains and enabling engineers to be more productive, efficient and innovative through personal leadership and technical contributions.

_In NYC, the salary range for this position is $190,000 - $237,500, which represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. The listed salary range is specific to NYC and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training.

_Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don’t fall victim to fraud. Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Feel free to ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of communication for interview, and ensure your communication is coming from a Fanatics email address (including @collectfanatics.com). For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at _www.fanaticsinc.com/careers

_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

Fanatics Collectibles is a new model and vision for the hobby, fundamentally changing the experience for current and future collectors, leagues, and players across many U.S. and international professional and college sports. The organization has long-term, exclusive rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards for several sports and entertainment properties, including MLB, MLBPA, the Premier League, MLS, UFC, Formula 1 as well as Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, among others. In January 2022, Fanatics Collectibles announced the acquisition of Topps, establishing the preeminent licensed trading card brand as the cornerstone of Fanatics’ trading cards and collectibles business, and jumpstarted its MLB and MLBPA rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards