Senior Staff Engineer (m/f/d)

We’re the world’s leading sports technology company, at the intersection between sports, media, and betting. More than 1,700 sports federations, media outlets, betting operators, and consumer platforms across 120 countries rely on our know-how and technology to boost their business.

ABOUT US: 

The Core Application Engineering department is the foundation upon which our product and engineering teams build their applications. We design, develop, and maintain critical, centralized services, including our central authentication solution and API Developer Portal, that empower all our engineering teams. These tools accelerate development and innovation across the company, from our Sports APIs to our Broadcast solutions.

THE OPPORTUNITY: 

We are embarking on a mission to build a new, centralized authorization service to manage permissions at scale across our entire suite of products. As a Senior Staff Engineer, you will guide the technical vision, design, and implementation of this critical service. You will be responsible for developing and launching a solution based on a Zanzibar-compatible authorization engine, creating a unified and fine-grained permission system that will be used by every engineering team at the company. This is a high-impact role with the opportunity to shape the future of our platform's security and architecture.

THE CHALLENGE:

• Shape the technical strategy around authorization.
• Oversee the end-to-end design, architecture, and implementation of a highly available, low-latency centralized authorization service.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams across the organization to define requirements and drive adoption of the new service.
• Evaluate, prototype, and select the appropriate Zanzibar-compatible technologies and frameworks for our needs.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code, setting the standard for quality within the team and department.
• Mentor and guide other senior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and collaborative problem-solving.
• Advocate for and implement best practices for security, reliability, observability, and scalability in a distributed systems environment.
• Own the operational readiness and successful launch of the authorization service, ensuring its stability and performance in production.

ABOUT YOU:

Essential Experience:

• 8+ years of professional experience in software development, including a history of designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in identity, authentication, and authorization (AuthN/AuthZ) concepts and patterns.
• Proficiency in one or more high-level programming languages such as Java, Go, or TypeScript (Java is preferred).
• Demonstrated success guiding complex, cross-functional technical projects from inception to completion.
• A passion for mentoring others and a talent for explaining complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure). AWS is preferred.

Desirable Experience:

• Thorough understanding of data-driven architecture, microservices, API-first development, and event-driven systems.
• Hands-on experience building or implementing systems with a Zanzibar-compatible authorization engine (e.g., SpiceDB, Ory Keto, OpenFGA).

OUR OFFER:

• A collaborative environment with colleagues from all over the world (Engineering offices in Europe, Asia and US) including various social events and team-building activities.
• Flexibility to manage your workday and tasks with autonomy.
• Vibrant and inclusive community, including Women in Tech and Pride groups which welcome all participants.
• Global Employee Assistance Programme.
• Calm and Reulay app (leading well-being apps designed to support focus, quality rest, mindfulness, and long-term mental resilience).
• Flexible working hours.
• Innovative and cross-team challenges like ShipIt, Office sports tournaments in Darts and Table Tennis.
• A hybrid working model, with three days a week in our Trondheim office.

While we appreciate the flexibility and benefits of working from home, we strongly believe that coming together in person fosters stronger connections, encourages collaboration, and drives innovation—both as individuals and as a company. The energy, shared ideas, and team support we experience in the office strengthen the foundation of our success and culture. For this reason, we are an office-first business operating on a hybrid model, with team members working in the office three days a week to build relationships, exchange ideas, and grow together. 

OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS:

• Initial Screening: A quick chat with our Talent Acquisition Partner to understand your background and expectations.
• Coding Interview: An interactive session where you will work on a technical exercise with the help of an AI Coding Assistant.
• System Design Interview: A collaborative architectural discussion. You may be asked to design a new, high-level system or to evaluate and critique an existing architecture.
• Final Interview: Meet with the department's senior team to discuss the role's strategic impact and team fit.
• Final Steps: Receive feedback and, if successful, an offer.

At Sportradar, we celebrate our diverse group of hardworking employees. Sportradar is committed to ensuring equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment opportunities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. We encourage you to apply even if you only meet most of the requirements (but not 100% of the listed criteria) – we believe skills evolve over time. If you’re willing to learn and grow with us, we invite you to join our team!