Software Engineer, Backend Developer, Python

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, Rust, 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 As a Mid-Level Software Engineer within our Engineering org, you will play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining the services that power Smarkets' business operations products. You will collaborate closely with engineering managers, technical leadership, and product managers to lead complex technical projects aligned with the Smarkets product roadmap.

Smarkets is looking for talented and passionate engineers like you for an exciting opportunity to create a unified and high-performing system that will not only optimize our services but also elevate Smarkets to new heights of success.

We believe in using the best tools for the job. We support two programming languages - a fast compiled language (Rust) for critical path operations and a slower interpreted one (Python) for other tasks. Our Kafka pub/sub MQ, the heart of our system, offers high availability, low latency, and message persistence. We provide gRPC and HTTP APIs for various metadata, while PostgreSQL and Elastic Search serve as our go-to databases.

Responsibilities:

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/CDMentor 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

Role Requirements:

4+ years of experience as a software engineer

Familiarity with Python or at least one compiled language (Java, C++, Rust, Go) and are keen on learning Rust Previous experience with building distributed systems in a modern cloud environment

Previous experience with Dev Ops engineering stacks/tools/practices including Git Lab and K8SPrevious experience with message queues (e.g. Apache Kafka) and SQL databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
Previous experience working in Sports Betting or Finance industries

Strong written and spoken communication skills in English The ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams

Proficiency in utilising AI-driven development tools (e.g., Cursor, Codex or Claude Code) to accelerate coding, debugging, and documentation workflows.

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

Brin…