Software Architect

National Geographic; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

DraftKings Inc. is seeking a Software Architect to design and scale systems for world-class digital experiences. This role involves defining architectural solutions, influencing technical standards, and guiding the evolution of high-performing systems.

As an essential team member, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams and own the technical direction of the Unified Trading Platform domain. The position offers the flexibility of remote work in a dynamic and innovative environment.

Qualifications

• At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience.
• Significant experience designing large-scale distributed systems.
• Proven understanding of microservices architecture and containerization.

Responsibilities

• Define architectural solutions to improve system performance.
• Design frameworks and tooling for enhanced resilience.
• Collaborate with teams to embed architectural principles.

Skills

Designing and evolving distributed systems

Kafka

Microservices architecture

Performance optimization

Cloud-based architectures

Continuous integration and delivery

Infrastructure as code

Job description

Overview

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.

As a Software Architect, you’ll help design and scale the systems that power world‑class digital experiences. You'll play a critical role in shaping architectural decisions while staying close to the code, ensuring our platforms are resilient, performant, and built to evolve.

Working across Engineering, Product, Infrastructure, and Platform teams, you'll influence how we approach distributed systems at scale and elevate technical standards across the organization. Your work will strengthen our foundation today while enabling us to move faster and smarter tomorrow.

Domain Focus

The Unified Trading Platform domain is at the center of our sports offering ecosystem, delivering real‑time, high‑volume sports data that powers odds, events, and market experiences. In this role, you’ll take technical ownership of the domain and help drive the evolution of resilient, scalable, and high‑performing systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve architectural solutions that improve system performance, scalability, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Design and refine frameworks, tooling, and engineering standards that enhance system resilience and long‑term maintainability.
• Partner closely with Product, Infrastructure, and Platform teams to embed sound architectural principles into planning, design, and delivery.
• Contribute hands‑on to critical initiatives, including prototypes, proof‑of‑concepts, and production systems that demonstrate scalable, maintainable design.
• Guide teams in adopting robust distributed system patterns, ensuring fault tolerance, observability, and operational maturity are built in from day one.
• Provide thoughtful design reviews and technical guidance that raise the bar for engineering quality and consistency.
• Collaborate with engineering leaders to align architectural decisions with business priorities and long‑term platform strategy.

Qualifications

• At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience, including significant experience designing and evolving large‑scale distributed systems in production environments.
• Extensive knowledge of messaging and streaming systems; hands‑on expertise with Kafka is a strong advantage.
• Proven understanding of push‑based microservices architecture, including containerization and orchestration paradigms.
• Strong expertise in scalable design patterns, performance optimization, reliability engineering, and modern cloud‑based architectures.
• Proficiency with modern development practices, including continuous integration and delivery, infrastructure as code, and observability tooling.
• Experience collaborating across teams to deliver cross‑functional technical initiatives that improve system stability, scalability, or efficiency.
• Clear, structured communication skills with the ability to document architectural decisions and influence both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• A passion for mentoring engineers, providing actionable design feedback, and continuously improving engineering standards.

Additional Information

DraftKings Inc. is a digital sports entertainment and gaming 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; the company will assist you if this is relevant to your role. The position is eligible for remote work.