Platform Storage is a core platform engineering team specializing in stateful infrastructure (PostgreSQL/RDS, Kafka (MSK), MongoDB, DynamoDB, and Elasticache/Valkey) for Fanatics Betting & Gaming. We own database and streaming reliability for dozens of product engineering teams, acting as both platform builders and embedded technical partners. Our core toolset is Python, Terraform, and SQL, with a focus on self-service tooling, GitOps managed infrastructure, and hands-on ownership of production systems.
About the Role
Fanatics Betting & Gaming (FBG) is seeking a Staff Platform Storage Engineer to join our Platform Storage team, based in the United States. This role owns a critical slice of our core platform infrastructure, including a portfolio of production PostgreSQL databases and our Kafka/MSK streaming platform, and acts as the embedded platform liaison for the product teams built on top of them.
As a Staff Engineer, you will operate with a high degree of autonomy, leading complex database and streaming infrastructure initiatives, setting standards for reliability and performance, and acting as the go to technical resource for schema design, query performance, and incident response across the teams you support.
Responsibilities
- Own database liaison responsibility for a portfolio of production PostgreSQL/RDS instances — query review, schema change approval, performance tuning, and incident triage for the teams built on top of them.
- Operate and evolve our Kafka/MSK streaming platform: topic lifecycle management via GitOps, cluster health across environments, and CDC (Debezium) pipeline reliability.
- Build and maintain self-service tooling that lets product teams provision database and streaming resources without a manual ticket queue.
- Drive platform stability projects — operator/version upgrades, root-cause fixes for recurring operational issues, and proactive capacity/cost optimization across the database and streaming fleet.
- Act as the technical escalation point for cross-team incidents where the root cause traces back to shared platform infrastructure (replication lag, connection exhaustion, CPU/throughput issues).
- Represent Platform Storage in cross-org infrastructure initiatives and standardization efforts.
- Mentor engineers and participate in on-call rotations.
What You Bring
- Strong, hands-on Python — a primary tool of the role, not incidental. 5+ years using Python day-to-day is a strong signal.
- 8+ years of experience in platform, infrastructure, or database engineering, with deep hands-on experience operating and running PostgreSQL (RDS) in production at scale — this is an infrastructure-ownership role, not an application-development role that happens to use Postgres.
- Strong experience operating Kafka (MSK or self-managed) in production, including topic management and CDC/event-streaming pipelines.
- Strong SQL fluency — comfortable diagnosing query performance issues and reviewing schema changes for teams you don't sit inside of.
- Working knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
- Experience owning production database reliability across multiple downstream teams simultaneously — able to prioritize across a portfolio, not just one system.
- Strong cross-team communicator; this role is equal parts infrastructure engineering and technical partnership with the teams you support.
Nice to Have
- Experience with GitOps-managed Kubernetes operators (Strimzi or equivalent) for stream infrastructure.
- MongoDB or DynamoDB operational experience.
- Experience with pgbouncer, connection pooling, and query-level performance diagnostics.
- Prior work on platform cost optimization initiatives at multi-cluster scale.
- Exposure to regulated or high-availability environments (gaming, fintech, or similar).
Who Thrives Here
- Operates with a high degree of autonomy and ownership, leading complex initiatives with limited direction.
- Comfortable influencing without authority and driving technical clarity in ambiguous problem spaces.
- Communicates effectively across regions and time zones (US, UK, Ireland).
- Cares about platform reliability, developer experience, and long-term system health.
Depending on the role, your interview and onboarding experience may include in-person components, such as onsite interviews or Launching into Better: LIVE—a multi-day cultural immersion in New York City for full-time, non-seasonal hires. These sessions are designed to build connection and bring our culture to life, though specific travel and participation requirements will be confirmed based on your role and location. Your recruiter will provide clear guidance at each stage of the process.
For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/
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Ranges will change based on country and state of residence, which are reflected in Geographical Zones defined by Fanatics Betting and Gaming. The range incorporates all of our Geographical Compensation Zones and is subject to change as the Zone associated with the actual offer is confirmed. In addition to the base and bonus, full-time employment, and more. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/
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Skills Required
- 8+ years of experience in platform, infrastructure, or database engineering
- Deep hands-on production experience running PostgreSQL and Amazon RDS at scale
- Strong production experience operating Kafka, including topic management and CDC/event-streaming pipelines
- Strong SQL fluency, including query performance diagnosis and schema change review
- Infrastructure as Code expertise with Terraform
- Experience owning production database reliability across multiple downstream teams
- Strong cross-team communication and technical partnership skills
- Experience with GitOps-managed Kubernetes operators such as Strimzi
- MongoDB or DynamoDB operational experience
- Experience with PgBouncer, connection pooling, and query-level performance diagnostics
- Experience with platform cost optimization at multi-cluster scale
- Exposure to regulated or high-availability environments such as gaming or fintech
Fanatics Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Fanatics and has not been reviewed or approved by Fanatics.
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Strong & Reliable Incentives — Incentives like annual bonuses and overtime opportunities are common, supporting higher total compensation especially in corporate roles. Seasonal premiums and performance bonuses are also cited across roles.
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Healthcare Strength — Multiple medical plan options, mental-health services, and wellness programs are highlighted as core offerings. Additional supports like HSAs/FSAs and condition management further strengthen the health package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid maternity and paternity leave, fertility benefits, adoption assistance, and gender-affirmation coverage are explicitly included. Childcare support and backup care resources are also referenced.
Fanatics Insights
What We Do
Transforming the licensed sports industry through an innovative vertical e-commerce model that allows Fanatics to quickly design, manufacture and distribute high-quality fan gear across retail channels, better serving the real-time expectations of leagues, teams, fans and retailers in today’s mobile-first, on-demand culture.
Why Work With Us
You don't have to love sports to work here (though we love sports fanatics as well!). Fanatics is an industry leading, multi-billion dollar, international, privately held company with a casual, lofty space in the heart of Downtown Boulder. We have the advantages of a startup, without the pitfalls.
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