Software Engineer
As a Mid-Level Software Engineer, the successful candidate will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining the services that power Smarkets' business operations products. This position involves collaborating closely with engineering managers, technical leadership, and product managers to lead complex technical projects that align with the Smarkets product roadmap.
Smarkets is looking for talented and passionate engineers to create a unified and high-performing system that will not only optimise its services but also elevate Smarkets to new heights of success. The role requires working with a technology stack that includes Python for general tasks and Rust for critical path operations, supported by Kafka, gRPC, HTTP APIs, PostgreSQL, and ElasticSearch.
- Design, implement and maintain complex designs/features written in Python and Rust
- Implement alerting and monitoring to ensure the stability of our services
- Help reinforce the standard for code quality, by writing tests and reviewing merge requests
- Continuously improve engineering processes including CI/CD
- Mentor technically your direct teammates
- Work closely with Product and other engineering teams to scope and lead complex business goal-aligned projects
- Be the champion of the stack by demonstrating first-hand how to implement functionalities in the right way, with an eye to the horizon and your mind on the present
- 4+ years of experience as a software engineer (required)
- Familiarity with Python or at least one compiled language (Java, C++, Rust, Go) and are keen on learning Rust (required)
- Previous experience with building distributed systems in a modern cloud environment (required)
- Previous experience with DevOps engineering stacks/tools/practices including GitLab and K8S (required)
- Previous experience with message queues (e.g. Apache Kafka) and SQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL) (required)
- Previous experience working in Sports Betting or Finance industries (required)
- Strong written and spoken communication skills in English (required)
- The ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams (required)
- Proficiency in utilising AI-driven development tools (e.g., Cursor, Codex or Claude Code) to accelerate coding, debugging, and documentation workflows (required)
- Stock Options: Vest over 4 years
- Pension Scheme: Competitive plan via Aviva, with up to 6% matched contributions
- Health Insurance: Comprehensive coverage
- Enhanced Parental Leave: Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
- Stay Fuelled: Fresh, chef-made breakfast and lunch every day, plus snacks and drinks
- Cycle-to-Work Scheme
- Learning & Development: £1,000 annual education budget
- 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
- Global Working: Work from anywhere in the world for up to 20 days a year
- Team Energy: Regular socials, hackathons, and events
Smarkets is a peer-to-peer betting exchange based in London, where customers bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker and the exchange earns a commission on net winnings. It offers markets on sport and politics, and its teams in London work across engineering, product, design and commercial roles, with customer operations staff in Malta.