Sr. Director of Engineering

San Mateo, CA, United States

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. The company ignites the passions of global sports fans and maximizes the presence and reach for hundreds of sports partners globally by offering innovative 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 over 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, teams, players associations, athletes, celebrities, colleges, and college conferences, and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail business stores. As a market leader with more than 18,000 employees, and hundreds of partners, suppliers, and vendors worldwide, we take responsibility for driving toward more ethical and sustainable practices. We are committed to building an inclusive Fanatics community, reflecting and representing society at every level of the business, including our employees, vendors, partners and fans. Fanatics is also dedicated to making a positive impact in the communities where we all live, work, and play through strategic philanthropic initiatives.

Own the future of sports fan discovery at Fanatics! As the Sr. Director of Engineering for Find & Discover, you'll lead a talented team in building and optimizing features that elevate the customer experience on the Fanatics family of 900+ websites, including nflshop.com, mlbshop.com, and store.nba.com. Fanatics is the undisputed leader in licensed sports merchandise. You'll be the driving force behind innovative search and navigation solutions, unlocking powerful fan journeys and fueling our continued growth. What you'll be doing: Define and lead the vision and strategy for search and browse features on Fanatics.com, ensuring a flawless customer experience at every touchpoint.

Oversee the development, deployment, and optimization of front-end features like search bars, filters, category pages, and product listings.

Champion the growth and effectiveness of facet navigation, enabling fans to refine their search and discover their dream gear efficiently and precisely.

Lead a high-performing team of engineers responsible for the search backend infrastructure – from indexing and ranking algorithms to data pipelines and caching strategies.

Closely collaborate with UX and product management teams to understand user needs, translate them into technical requirements, and deliver solutions that exceed expectations.

Collaborate closely with platform, infrastructure, and cloud teams to ensure scalability, performance, and reliability of search and browse features.

Stay at the forefront of search technology, leveraging methodologies like ranking, semantic search, NLP, embeddings, and vector search to deliver unmatched relevance and personalized results.

Drive measurable improvements through A/B testing and data analysis, iterating continuously to optimize engagement and conversion.

Lead and empower your team to achieve ambitious OKRs and foster a culture of innovation and collaboration.

Partner with the QA team to ensure the highest quality standards for all search and browse experiences.

What we're looking for: 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with a proven track record of success in leading high-performing teams.

Deep search technology expertise includes ranking algorithms, relevance models, and performance optimization techniques.

Experience leading a search backend team, including architects, data scientists, and infrastructure engineers.

Solid understanding of cloud platforms and infrastructure, with experience working with teams in these areas.

Passion for the customer experience and a relentless drive to deliver innovative solutions that delight fans.

Exceptional leadership skills, including inspiring, motivating, and mentoring a team of talented engineers.

Data-driven mindset with a focus on continuous improvement through A/B testing and experimentation.

Strong communication and collaboration skills, able to effectively partner with cross-functional teams.

Bonus Points! Experience working in e-commerce.

Familiarity with machine learning techniques used in search and recommendation systems.

Passion for fan culture and understanding of their search and discovery needs.

Things We Care About

· Your career growth, your ideas, your work-life balance, and your well-being. · Diversity and Inclusion · Our Company Culture and Values · Providing outstanding Company Perks and Benefits

www.fanaticsinc.com Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don’t fall victim to fraud. Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Fanatics recruiters will only reach out to applicants from an @fanatics.com or @fanatics.co.uk email address. For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.fanaticsinc.com/careers

Fanatics is committed to responsible planning and purchasing (RPP) practices, working with its business partners across its global and multi-layered supply chain, to ensure that planning, sourcing, and purchasing decisions, along with other supporting processes, do not impede or conflict with the fulfillment of Fanatics’ fair labor practices.

NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS/APPLICANTS : In connection with your application, we collect information that identifies, reasonably relates to or describes you (“Personal Information”). The categories of Personal Information that we collect include your name, government issued identification number(s), email address, mailing address, other contact information, emergency contact information, employment history, educational history, criminal record, and demographic information. We collect and use those categories of Personal Information about you for human resources and other business management purposes, including identifying and evaluating you as a candidate for potential or future employment or future contract positions, recordkeeping in relation to recruiting and hiring, conducting criminal background checks as permitted by law, conducting analytics, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements and Company policies. For additional information on how we collect and use personal information in connection with your job application, review our Candidate Privacy Policy-CA

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