Senior Software Engineer, Data at Playonsports

PlayOn Sports operates one of the largest real-time data ecosystems in high school sports, spanning streaming video, ticketing, scoring, and fan engagement across NFHS Network, GoFan, and MaxPreps. As a Senior Software Engineer, Data, You will design, build, and operate the data services and APIs that leverage PlayOn's foundational data platform and the application teams that depend on them every day.  You will own service design, define event contracts, and raise the bar for quality and reliability across the Data Products portfolio. The ideal candidate is a senior individual contributor who thrives in production data systems, values correctness and clarity, and takes ownership of critical pipelines that the business depends on every day.   The outcomes you’ll deliver • Reliable, well-designed data services and APIs powering application teams across PlayOn's brands. • Clean event contracts and schema alignment across PlayOn's operational data landscape. • Production-grade services with strong observability, clear ownership, and documented SLAs. In this role, you can expect to • Design, build, and operate data services and APIs used by application teams. • Partner with Data Platform engineers to translate event streams and pipelines into application-ready interfaces. • Own technical design for major features, including API shape, data contracts, versioning, and backward compatibility. • Build in Python and SQL across event-driven architectures. • Collaborate with application teams to define integration patterns and service expectations. • Improve observability, correctness, and operational maturity of data products. • Optimize platform performance and cloud cost efficiency. • Collaborate with the Data Platform team on pipeline contracts and data availability. To thrive in this role, you have • 5+ years of experience building production software systems, ideally including data services or platform APIs. • Strong Python skills — production-grade, testable, maintainable code. • Strong SQL skills and comfort working with large analytical datasets. • Experience with event-driven architectures and streaming systems (Kafka, Flink, or equivalent). • Experience designing and operating REST APIs consumed by application teams. • Comfort taking technical ownership — driving design decisions, not just implementing them. • Familiarity with AI-augmented development tools (Claude, Codex) as part of a modern engineering workflow. Preferred Experience • Experience with Snowflake or similar cloud data warehouses. • Background in data modeling for analytical or operational use cases. • ML engineering basics — feature pipelines, model-adjacent data services. • Experience in sports, media, or high-volume consumer platforms. How You Play • Ownership over Participation – You take responsibility for achieving holistic outcomes, prioritize key objectives, and adapt quickly when situations require a different approach. You follow through even against the toughest challenges. • Team over Stars – You are a bridge builder, establishing processes and relationships with teams outside your own. You work to rally around common goals, find win-win solutions, compromise when necessary, and help others succeed. • Growth over Comfort – You are driven by a desire to grow and actively seek opportunities to expand your comfort zone, skills, and confidence. You embrace new challenges with curiosity, accepting discomfort and failure as opportunities to learn. • Fairness over Popularity – You approach decisions with a scientist’s mindset, challenging your assumptions and remaining objective. You consider long-term impact rather than relying on short-term gains, proactively seek others’ perspectives, and manage emotions in decision-making. Company Overview  PlayOn is a dynamic growth-stage company dedicated to championing the spirit of play in the high school space. Backed by KKR, our family of brands—including GoFan, NFHS Network, and MaxPreps—empowers schools with innovative solutions and exceptional service. Our fan engagement platform is the only one that offers event ticketing, streaming, fundraising, concessions, merchandise sales, and website management in one place. We save administrators time so they can focus on what truly matters: supporting the students, staff, and fans who bring their programs to life.  Trusted by thousands of schools across the country, we're here to help create more instant replays, hold-your-breath moments, last-minute comebacks, and games you want to watch over and over again.  When being there means everything, we make sure you never miss a moment.   Why you’ll love working at PlayOn   Product, potential, and people. We’re a leader in the high school event space, constantly evolving our product to meet the needs of administrators. We focus on solving real challenges, learning quickly, and creating impactful solutions.  This is a growth-stage company, meaning your contributions have real impact. You’ll have opportunities to grow your skills, tackle meaningful problems, and make a difference in the lives of schools and the students and fans they serve.  Our culture is built on accountability, collaboration, growth, and fairness. We don’t just show up—we show up for each other. Everyone wears the same jersey, and we play hard, make the extra pass, and cheer one another on. Losses teach us, challenges motivate us, and persistence drives us forward. We value integrity over shortcuts, choosing to do what’s right even when it’s hard. Together, we strive to be better every day—because we know that’s how we win as a team.  The Benefits We Offer  Multiple medical insurance plans to choose from  Dental, vision life and disability insurance  Employee Emergency Fund   Company equity (stock options)  Open PTO policy   401K plan with company match  Hybrid/flexible work environment  Note: Must be a full-time employee to participate in the company’s employee health benefit plan. Part-time employees and interns are not eligible to participate.