Lead Backend Engineer

At DraftKings, AI is becoming an integral part of both our present and future, powering how work gets done today, guiding smarter decisions, and sparking bold ideas. It's transforming how we enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, and unlock new possibilities. Our teams are energized by innovation and readily embrace emerging technology. We're not waiting for the future to arrive. We're shaping it, one bold step at a time. To those who see AI as a driver of progress, come build the future together.
The Crown Is Yours
As a Lead Software Engineer, you'll lead the charge in building scalable systems that power real-time experiences for millions of customers. You'll architect robust solutions, write high-performance code, and guide a team committed to technical excellence. Working across disciplines, you'll align engineering execution with business strategy and elevate our enterprise platform. This is a rare opportunity to lead with impact, shape product direction, mentor talent, and drive innovation at scale. This role is designed as a player-coach position, balancing hands-on individual contribution with technical mentorship and leadership after an initial onboarding period.
What You'll Do

• Architect, develop, and maintain scalable and secure systems and APIs that power high-impact applications used by millions of users in a real-time, always-on environment.
• Take ownership of the full development lifecycle from shaping the architecture of new features to breaking down workstreams and guiding implementation.
• Lead by example, remaining a hands-on contributor while writing high-performance, well-tested code that meets our rigorous standards for reliability and scalability.
• Set and enforce best practices around code quality, design patterns, testing, and system performance.
• Triage, debug, and resolve complex issues in production environments, driving a culture of accountability and operational excellence.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, and Engineering teams to align technical solutions with strategic business goals.
• Act as a technical mentor and coach, providing guidance and feedback through code reviews, design discussions, and day-to-day collaboration that helps engineers grow and deliver their best work.
• Play a critical role in shaping the team's roadmap and technical direction while fostering a strong engineering culture grounded in ownership and continuous learning.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or any suitable combination of education, experience, and training.
• At least 5 years of experience in object-oriented backend development using languages such as C# or Java, with advanced expertise in OOP principles, design patterns, and backend architecture.
• Proven ability to architect, build, and scale distributed systems in Cloud environments such as AWS or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Deep experience developing and maintaining comprehensive automated test suites, including unit, integration, and performance tests, to ensure system resilience and scalability.
• A strong track record of mentoring engineers, leading code and design reviews, and driving high-impact technical decisions across cross-functional teams.
• Experience balancing deep hands-on engineering work with technical leadership and mentorship within a team environment.
• A proactive mindset with a focus on continuous improvement, code quality, and driving engineering best practices across teams.
• Proficiency in integrating AI-powered tools (e.g. Copilot, Cursor, Claude) into development pipelines to accelerate coding, enhance code quality, and increase developer efficiency.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted testing, code reviews, and documentation generation.
• Proven ability in leveraging AI tools in daily engineering workflows e.g. including pair programming with AI, auto-generating test cases, or accelerating bug triage and resolution.

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Join Our Team
We're a publicly traded (NASDAQ: DKNG) technology company headquartered in Boston. As a regulated gaming company, you may be required to obtain a gaming license issued by the appropriate state agency as a condition of employment. Don't worry, we'll guide you through the process if this is relevant to your role.