Staff Engineer

Who are we?

Smarkets: Predicting the Future of Betting

Smarkets runs one of the world’s most sophisticated prediction markets, handling over £29 billion in volume since 2010 and engaging 200,000+ traders globally. We’re a technology company that happens to revolutionise betting - from sports to political markets, to delivering the sharpest prices and the fairest odds.

Our stack is designed for scale, reliability, and speed: Linux, Kafka, Postgres, Kubernetes, with Python 3, C++17, and React powering our platform. We build infrastructure that institutions trust while keeping trading accessible to everyone. Our edge? We’ve thrived through every market cycle, competitor, and industry revolution.

At the heart of our success are our people. We create a high-performance environment where exceptional talent can thrive, blending deep business experience with a commercial mindset to drive strategic growth.

If you’re ready to help shape the future of prediction markets with cutting-edge technology and a customer-first philosophy, Smarkets is where you belong.

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Staff Engineer to lead our engineering efforts in a senior individual contributor role in our business, reporting directly to the Director of Engineering. You’ll be the most senior technical IC in the company and pivotal in shaping our tech stack and driving innovation across teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Act as a senior technical leader, providing thought leadership and hands-on support for high-impact projects and driving the engineering roadmap.

• Partner with the Director of Engineering to consolidate tech stack and streamline development processes.

• Collaborate with frontend and backend teams to design scalable, reliable microservices architecture using Rust, Python, and Typescript.

• Optimize service latency and performance across PostgreSQL, Redis, and Kafka-driven architectures.

• Support implementation of CI/CD, monitoring, and alerting solutions to ensure system health and performance.

• Drive best practices in engineering and contribute to a culture of collaboration, learning, and innovation.

• Influence and support the development of a best-in-class engineering culture.

• Identify opportunities for innovation and optimization to drive business value and maintain a competitive edge.

About You:

• 8+ years in software development, 2+ years as a Staff Engineer, 4+ years extensive experience in designing scalable and reliable architecture for consumer systems technologies.

• Proven ability to set technical direction and standards.

• Expertise across Backend, Frontend, DevOps, Data, and Mobile Engineering.

• Strong experience with AWS, scalable solutions, and infrastructure as code tools like Terraform.

• Proficiency in Python, C++, Rust, Javascript, Typescript, Node.js, and familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, Redis, Elasticsearch.

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and orchestration.

• Expert problem-solving skills and bias towards action.

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

• Passionate about delivering high-quality products and leading technical challenges with enthusiasm.

Technologies We Use:

• Languages: Python, Rust, C++, Erlang, JavaScript, TypeScript

• Frontend: React

• Cloud: AWS, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes

• Databases: PostgreSQL, S3, Redshift, Redis, ElasticSearch, GraphQL

• Messaging: Kafka, RabbitMQ

• CI/CD & DevOps: GitLab, Jenkins, Ansible

• Monitoring: Sentry, Grafana, Prometheus

Our Values

Our values are at the heart of everything we do - guiding how we work, collaborate, and innovate. They reflect what we expect of ourselves and each other to deliver the best results, while fostering a positive, high-performing environment:

• Push to Win: We set ambitious goals and relentlessly pursue them, always striving for excellence.

• Make Others Better: We lift each other up, share knowledge, and celebrate team success over individual achievement.

• Give a Shit: We care deeply about our work, our users, and the impact we make.

• Be a Pro: We take ownership, act with integrity, and consistently deliver to a high standard.

• Bring the Energy: We bring positivity, curiosity, and enthusiasm to everything we do, inspiring those around us.

Culture Fit: These values define how we succeed as a team. If this isn’t you, this may not be the right place. We hire people who thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, and ambitious environment.

Perks & Benefits

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, alongside a dynamic, collaborative environment where your work truly makes an impact and your voice is heard. Our team is diverse, driven, and ambitious - united by a strong work ethic and a hunger to innovate and win.

Our benefits are designed around Health, Wealth,and Development, supporting you both professionally and personally.

These include:

• Stock Options: Vest over 4 years - your success is our success.

• Pension Scheme: Competitive plan via Aviva, with up to 6% matched contributions if you opt in.

• Health Insurance: Comprehensive coverage to keep you and your family healthy.

• Enhanced Parental Leave: Enhanced maternity and paternity leave to support you through life’s most important moments.

• Stay Fuelled: Enjoy fresh, chef-made breakfast and lunch every day, plus a constant supply of fruit, snacks, tea, coffee and soft drinks — because great work starts with great food.

• Cycle-to-Work Scheme: Support for sustainable commuting and staying active.

• Learning & Development: £1,000 annual education budget for courses, conferences, books, or training.

• Holiday: 25 days paid leave + bank holidays, with the option to carry over 5 days.

• Flexible Working: Hybrid model with 3 days in the office and 2 days from home to fit your lifestyle.

• Global Working: Work from anywhere in the world for up to 20 days a year.

• Team Energy: Regular socials, hackathons, and events — because collaboration and fun go hand-in-hand.

What happens next​

We aim to have a simple and speedy hiring process and we want to make sure that we are right for you as much as the other way around.

• CV application review - We will review it as quickly as possible

• Let’s chat - Quick chat with our team about your experience and the role

• Hiring Manager chat - Meet your potential Line Manager

• Technical Interview - System Design Fullstack Interview

• Technical Interview - System Design Infrastructure & Tooling Interview

• In Office Interview - Lunch with other colleagues in the team and Leadership chats