Applied AI Engineer

Fanatics-fb44f34a; New York (NY); On-site; USD 160,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) plan with company match

PTO, holidays, and parental leave

Wellness stipend

Learning & development stipend

NYC office with in-person collab

Employee discounts

Job summary

Fanatics is hiring full-time Applied AI Engineers to join a small, senior team central to transforming the business with AI. You will embed with a function, identify bottlenecks, replace manual work with AI agents, and own solutions from concept to production and adoption.

You will move quickly in a fast-paced environment, with executive visibility and direct reporting to the CFO and Corporate AI Transformation Lead. A startup or rapid-growth background is preferred.

Qualifications

• 3+ years building applied AI or software products with real users.
• Experience deploying custom agents or agentic workflows with frontier LLMs.
• Proficiency with modern AI stack and prompt engineering.
• Strong Python coding and tool selection skills.

Responsibilities

• Own problems end to end: define, design, build, test and drive adoption.
• Embed with a business function to replace slow work with AI workflows.
• Collaborate with senior leaders and drive measurable outcomes.
• Work with ambiguity, move quickly, and deliver production-ready solutions.

Skills

Applied AI

Software engineering

Python

Ambiguity handling

Communication

Independent execution

Strategic mindset

Executive visibility

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Claude Agent SDK

OpenAI Agents SDK

LangGraph

MCP

Job description

Fanatics is building a leading global 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.

The Role

Are you a builder who has already shipped AI that changed how a business runs? Fanatics wants you.

We're hiring full-time Applied AI Engineers to join a small, senior team that sits at the center of how Fanatics transforms itself with AI. Our goal is simple and ambitious: make Fanatics a leaner, faster, more automated company. Each Applied AI Engineer works like a tiger team: embed with a business function, find its biggest bottlenecks, replace slow, manual work with AI agents and workflows that actually run in production, then move on to the next challenge.

This is a doer's role, not an advisory one. You'll own problems end to end: define them, design the solution, build it, prove it works, and drive adoption. You'll have real autonomy, executive visibility, and a direct line to leadership, with joint reporting to the CFO and Corporate AI Transformation Lead.

We're looking for someone with prior experience doing applied AI work at a startup or fast-growing company, who is used to moving quickly with limited resources and is ready to bring that pace to a global brand.

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of experience in applied AI or software engineering, including time at a startup or fast-growing company where you shipped AI-powered products or automations to real users.
• A track record of building and deploying custom agents or agentic workflows with frontier LLMs that solved real business problems, not just prototypes.
• Fluency with the modern AI stack: LLM APIs, MCP, agent frameworks (Claude Agent SDK, OpenAI Agents SDK, LangGraph, or similar), prompt engineering, RAG, and evaluation methods.
• Strong coding skills (Python preferred) and the judgment to pick the right tool for the job, including buying or configuring instead of building.
• Comfort operating independently in ambiguity, with a high bar for speed, ownership, and follow‑through.
• A strategic mindset paired with a "get it done" attitude; you can tell the difference between a cool demo and a business outcome.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to earn trust and drive change with senior business leaders.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Software Engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent practical experience welcome.
• Bonus points if you're a fan of sports, collectibles, or fandom culture (because we're a little obsessed).

Why You'll Love It Here

• Real ownership of high‑visibility problems, with exposure to every part of Fanatics and direct access to senior leadership.
• A chance to be part of a small, hand‑picked team shaping how a global sports and collectibles company becomes AI‑first.
• Backing for your work: dedicated headcount, budget, and executive sponsorship to get things done.
• Competitive salary and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Generous paid time off, paid holidays, and parental leave.
• Wellness benefits and a learning & development stipend.
• NYC office with daily in‑person collaboration.
• Employee discount on Fanatics products and (yes) some sweet Fanatics swag.

Final Word

If you've built AI that moved a business and you're ready to do it at global scale, let's talk. This is where the doers build.

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short‑term or long‑term incentive compensation. When determining base pay as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training.For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/

Fanatics will never ask candidates for money, banking information, or other sensitive personal information as part of the interview process. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Fanatics recruiting, please do not respond and report it here.

Voluntary Self‑Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self‑identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Fanatics Inc.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

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