Applied AI Engineer

The posting, as Fanatics Inc. wrote it

About Us

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.

The Role
Are you a builder who has already shipped AI that changed how a business runs? Fanatics wants you.

We're hiring full-time Applied AI Engineers to join a small, senior team that sits at the center of how Fanatics transforms itself with AI. Our goal is simple and ambitious: make Fanatics a faster, more automated company. Each Applied AI Engineer works like a tiger team: embed with a business function, find its biggest bottlenecks, replace slow, manual work with AI agents and workflows that actually run in production, then move on to the next challenge.

This is a doer's role, not an advisory one. You'll own problems end to end: define them, design the solution, build it, prove it works, and drive adoption. You'll have real autonomy, executive visibility, and a direct line to leadership, with joint reporting to the CFO and Corporate AI Transformation Lead.

We're looking for someone with prior experience doing applied AI work at a startup or fast-growing company, who is used to moving quickly with limited resources and is ready to bring that pace to a global brand.

What You'll Do

• Embed within corporate functions across the business, find the workflows where AI can remove the most manual effort or unlock the most growth, fix them, then rotate to the next function.
• Design, build, and deploy production-grade agents and agentic workflows using frontier models (Claude, GPT, Gemini) and the modern agent stack: MCP servers, agent SDKs, orchestration tools, browser and computer use, and evals.
• Move fast: take a high-impact use case from concept to working solution in weeks, not quarters, and prove it with measurable results.
• Think in systems and bias toward solving the problem, not toward building for its own sake. Sometimes the right answer is a cus

[…]
tten and verbal communication, with the ability to earn trust and drive change with senior business leaders.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Software Engineering, or a related field preferred; equivalent practical experience welcome.
• Bonus points if you're a fan of sports, collectibles, or fandom culture (because we're a little obsessed).

Why You'll Love It Here

• Real ownership of high-visibility problems, with exposure to every part of Fanatics and direct access to senior leadership.
• A chance to be part of a small, hand-picked team shaping how a global sports and collectibles company becomes AI-first.
• Backing for your work: dedicated headcount, budget, and executive sponsorship to get things done.
• Competitive salary and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Generous paid time off, paid holidays, and parental leave.
• Wellness benefits and a learning & development stipend.
• NYC office with daily in-person collaboration.
• Employee discount on Fanatics products and (yes) some sweet Fanatics swag.

Final Word
If you've built AI that moved a business and you're ready to do it at global scale, let's talk. This is where the doers build.
The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. When determining base pay as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/

Salary Range
$150,000 — $200,000 USD

By submitting your application, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our Candidate Privacy Policy.

Fanatics will never ask candidates for money, banking information, or other sensitive personal information as part of the interview process. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Fanatics recruiting, please do not respond and report it here .