Senior Software Engineer, Backend

As a Senior Software Engineer at DraftKings, you will design and scale backend systems that power real-time, AI-enhanced experiences for millions of users. You will own critical services end-to-end, from fast-paced delivery to long-term reliability, while pushing boundaries in applied machine learning and reinforcement learning. This role involves working alongside engineers, researchers, and product partners to integrate intelligent decision systems, build robust data pipelines, and bring cutting-edge AI into production.

Must Have

• Design and develop scalable backend systems and APIs for real-time, AI-driven features.
• Build and maintain data pipelines and infrastructure for ML/RL model training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Implement evaluation frameworks to measure model performance and system behavior.
• Translate AI concepts into performant production-ready systems.
• Deliver high-quality, production-ready code from day one.
• Own the full software development lifecycle for your services.
• Collaborate across disciplines to ensure technical alignment.
• At least 3 years of professional experience in object-oriented backend development (C#, Java, or Python).
• Proven experience designing and operating distributed systems at scale in cloud environments (AWS or GCP).
• Experience building data pipelines and backend infrastructure to support ML training, inference, and model evaluation.
• Familiarity with reinforcement learning concepts.
• Proficiency in writing and maintaining automated test suites.
• Comfort setting up experimentation or evaluation frameworks.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, high-ownership settings.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or suitable combination of education, experience, and training.

Perks & Benefits

• bonus
• equity
• benefits

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 Senior Software Engineer, you’ll design and scale backend systems that power real time, AI enhanced experiences for millions of users. You’ll own critical services end to end, from fast paced delivery to long term reliability, while pushing boundaries in applied machine learning and reinforcement learning. You’ll work alongside engineers, researchers, and product partners to integrate intelligent decision systems, build robust data pipelines, and bring cutting edge AI into production. This is a role for engineers who thrive on impact, move fast with discipline, and are driven by what's next in technology.

What you’ll do

• Design and develop scalable backend systems and APIs that enable real-time, AI-driven features across a high-volume, 24/7 platform
• Build and maintain data pipelines and infrastructure required to train, evaluate, and deploy machine learning and reinforcement learning models
• Implement evaluation frameworks to continuously measure model performance and system behavior, driving improvements with experimentation and metrics
• Work with researchers and data scientists to translate AI concepts, like reward function design and tradeoffs, into performant production-ready systems
• Stay at the forefront of AI/ML innovation, integrating new techniques and tools into backend services with speed and pragmatism
• Deliver high-quality, production-ready code from day one, while continuously tuning systems for performance, reliability, and maintainability
• Own the full software development lifecycle for your services, including design, monitoring, debugging, and long-term support
• Collaborate across disciplines to ensure technical alignment with product goals, mentoring teammates and elevating engineering standards

What you’ll bring

• At least 3 years of professional experience in object-oriented backend development using languages like C#, Java, or Python
• Proven experience designing and operating distributed systems at scale in cloud environments such as AWS or GCP
• Experience building data pipelines and backend infrastructure to support ML training, inference, and model evaluation
• Familiarity with reinforcement learning concepts and the ability to reason about reward design, convergence, and real-world tradeoffs
• Proficiency in writing and maintaining automated test suites, including unit, integration, and performance tests for large-scale backend services
• Comfort setting up experimentation or evaluation frameworks to validate AI-driven systems in live environments
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, high-ownership settings, triaging and resolving production issues, shipping features quickly, and optimizing for scale
• Curiosity, adaptability, and a drive to stay current with industry trends in AI, ML engineering, and software architecture
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or any suitable combination of education, experience, and training

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.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is 119,500.00 USD - 149,400.00 USD, plus bonus, equity, and benefits as applicable. Our ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The compensation information displayed on each job posting reflects the range for new hire pay rates for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific pay range and how that was determined during the hiring process. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.