Lead Software Engineer, Collector Engagement TeamAbout UsFanatics is building a leading integral digital sports platform.
We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet.
Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform.
Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores.
Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.About the TeamFanatics Collectibles is the home of sports cards, trading cards, and collectibles for over 100 million fans worldwide.
As part of the global Fanatics platform, we're rebuilding how collectors discover, buy, sell, and experience their hobby with world class technology and product experiences.As part of Fanatics Collectibles' continued global growth, we are establishing a new technology hub in Mexico City focused on operational excellence, platform scalability, trust, and customer experience.
This team partners closely with Customer Experience (CX), Trust & Safety, Fraud Prevention, Payments, and Financial Operations organizations to build scalable systems and operational tooling that support millions of users and transactions globally.About Topps Collector EngagementTopps is transforming the trading card from a physical product into a connected collector experience.
Through scanning, digital claiming, progression programs and partner activations, collectors can authenticate, track, unlock and redeem against the cards they own — bridging the physical product and the digital collector account.Our Collector Engagement team builds that technology layer.
The team delivers progression and quest experiences, redemption and reward mechanics, leaderboards, retail and live-event check-ins, in-venue collector moments, and the integrations that turn a scanned card into an account-level event.
Programs launch against a calendar set by card releases and sports moments, so the team builds reusable platform capability rather than one-off campaign code.The RoleWe are seeking a Lead Software Engineer to lead a small cohort of engineers building the collector-facing platform behind Topps collector engagement programs while remaining deeply hands-on in the design and delivery of production software.This role combines people leadership with senior-level frontend engineering.
The Lead will be accountable for the team's execution, technical quality and development, while personally owning and contributing to complex frontend capabilities, architecture decisions, performance and real-time interaction.
Working closely with Product, Design, Backend and Platform Engineering, this role will translate program requirements into shared components, state handling and telemetry that serve many programs rather than one.As a player-coach, this leader will set technical direction, establish priorities, coach and develop engineers, remove delivery blockers and raise engineering standards.
The role is expected to spend significant time designing, coding, reviewing and operating production software while ensuring the broader cohort delivers against Collector Engagement priorities.ResponsibilitiesLead, coach and develop a small cohort of frontend engineers working on Collector Engagement, with accountability for team execution, technical quality and individual growthSet team priorities, allocate work and coordinate execution against Collector Engagement goals, release milestones and program commitmentsRemain deeply hands-on: design, develop, test and maintain complex application features and platform components supporting collector engagement programsOwn the technical design and end-to-end delivery of significant frontend features and platform capabilities,



contributing directly where technical complexity or delivery risk is highestOwn the frontend architecture for program surfaces, including component model, state management, data fetching, and the boundary between shared platform and per-program codeSolve complex and sometimes ambiguous engineering problems involving performance, scalability, reliability, real-time interaction and user experienceMake sound technical and team execution decisions with appropriate independence, balancing program requirements, engineering quality, scalability, delivery commitments and long-term maintainabilityLead architecture decisions, technical planning, design reviews and the evolution of frontend engineering patterns across the cohortPartner with Product, Design, Backend and Platform Engineering to translate program requirements into reusable technical solutions and clear engineering plansDefine and evolve API contracts, client workflows and integration patterns, and challenge contracts that push avoidable complexity into the clientDesign the shared component and pattern layer with Design so a new program is largely configuration plus a thin custom layerEstablish and enforce performance budgets for experiences used mid-event and on low-end devicesDefine the frontend telemetry standard so program analytics are consistent across surfacesWrite clean, maintainable, well-tested code and establish strong patterns and best practices through direct contribution, code review and coachingImprove engineering systems and practices across release management, CI/CD, testing, observability, crash reporting and operational supportProactively identify technical, delivery and team capacity risks; remove blockers; and elevate or adjust plans when neededLead execution for initiatives that may span multiple engineers, systems or partner teams, ensuring ownership, sequencing and follow-throughProvide regular coaching, actionable feedback, technical guidance and development support to engineers, and contribute to hiring and team planning as neededCreate an environment of clear expectations, healthy engineering practices and strong collaboration across the Collector Engagement cohortPartner with engineering and product leadership on staffing, workload, delivery tradeoffs and execution planning for Collector Engagement prioritiesInfluence engineering standards and practices within the team and collaborate with adjacent engineering teams on shared technical challengesStay current with frontend ecosystem trends, libraries and development patterns and apply relevant advancements to the platformRequired Qualifications5+ years of professional frontend or mobile development experience, or equivalent demonstrated depth of experienceStrong experience with a modern component framework such as React or React NativeDemonstrated experience designing and delivering complex, production-scale consumer-facing applicationsDeep command of client-side state management and data fetching, including selecting the approach for a codebase rather than working within an existing oneStrong understanding of application architecture, API design, networking, asynchronous programming and application lifecycle managementExperience making architectural and technical design decisions for significant features or systemsStrong understanding of application performance, reliability, testing, observability and debugging strategiesExperience owning performance as a discipline, including measurement, budgets and scope reductionExperience identifying and resolving complex technical problems across multiple systems or componentsExperience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, release management and version control systemsAbility to drive technical and team execution from ambiguous requirements through design, implementation, launch and operational supportDemonstrated ability to make & influence technical decisions, set priorities, and coordinate engineers and partners toward shared outcomesExperience directly managing or formally leading engineers, including coaching, feedback, development, delegation and delivery accountabilityStrong judgment in balancing hands-on technical contribution with people leadership, team capacity and delivery needsStrong collaboration and communication skills across Engineering, Product and DesignProfessional working proficiency in English,



with daily collaboration across US-based product and engineering partnersBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experiencePreferred QualificationsExperience designing or scaling marketplace, e-commerce, loyalty, or other high-engagement consumer applicationsExperience leading a frontend platform, design-system engineering effort, or small product engineering teamReact Native at scale, or native iOS or Android depthFamiliarity with GraphQL, WebSockets, streaming technologies, or other real-time communication patternsExperience with analytics, experimentation platforms and observability toolingExperience improving frontend architecture or engineering standards across a development teamExperience managing delivery for technically complex initiatives involving multiple engineers or partner teamsPassion for sports, collectibles, creators, or digital communitiesCode-Writing ContributionThis is a highly hands‐on people leadership role.
The Lead Software Engineer is expected to make substantial individual contributions to production code while also being accountable for the execution, technical quality and development of a small cohort of engineers.The role will personally solve complex and ambiguous technical problems, contribute to architecture and critical implementation work, and establish engineering patterns that improve scalability, reliability, maintainability and user experience.
Hands‐on contribution should complement, not replace, effective delegation and team leadership.In addition to direct code contributions, the Lead Software Engineer sets priorities, coordinates execution, conducts design and code reviews, coaches engineers, provides feedback and development support, removes blockers, and ensures the team delivers against Collector Engagement commitments.Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don't fall victim to fraud.
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📌 Lead Software Engineer, Collector Engagement Team (Xico)
🏢 Fanatics Collectibles
📍 Xico