Senior Software Engineer, Backend

Sleeper • San Francisco, CA

3d • Remote

About The Position

Sleeper is seeking a Senior Software Engineer - Backend to enhance and scale the core systems supporting their fantasy sports and DFS (Daily Fantasy Sports) offerings. This role involves building and owning critical backend services, collaborating with other engineers to support millions of sports fans. The engineer will work cross-functionally to develop innovative features, including real-time contest engines, game logic, personalized content, and secure payment systems. The position requires taking ownership of significant parts of the backend stack and contributing to the performance, scalability, and reliability of Sleeper's infrastructure.

Requirements

• 5+ years of backend software engineering experience.
• Proven ability to build and scale distributed systems that serve millions of users in real-time or gaming environments.
• Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages (e.g., Go, Python, Node.js, Java), and an understanding of trade-offs between them.
• Solid knowledge of databases (both SQL and NoSQL), caching strategies, and message queues (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ, Pub/Sub).
• Comfortable designing and maintaining RESTful and/or graphql APIs, data models, and internal tooling.
• Cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or similar), with familiarity with containers (Docker).
• Strong product mindset—you care about the why, not just the how, and you build with users in mind.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in Elixir
• Passion for sports, gaming, or building multiplayer or real-time systems.
• Orchestration (Kubernetes a plus).

Responsibilities

• Design and build core backend systems that power Sleeper's games and real-time user experiences—fantasy contests, Sleeper Picks, user profiles, leaderboards, and more.
• Build scalable, distributed systems capable of handling millions of concurrent users with low latency and high availability.
• Own backend initiatives from concept to deployment, ensuring clean interfaces, well-documented services, and resilient infrastructure.
• Optimize system performance and proactively address bottlenecks through monitoring, profiling, and capacity planning.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with product, design, and frontend teams to deliver features that users love.
• Contribute thoughtful code reviews and help strengthen backend engineering best practices and standards.

Benefits

• Competitive salary ($170,000–$220,000) /year not inclusive of stock options and benefits)
• Equity
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company matching
• Generous PTO and flexible remote work policy
• Opportunities for fast career growth in a high-impact role
• A small, focused team where your contributions truly matter

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees