Engineering Manager (Virtuals)

Build at Scale. Lead with Impact.

At KingMakers, we build and operate leading sports and iGaming platforms used daily by millions of customers across multiple African markets.

We are not maintaining legacy systems: we are scaling a live, revenue-driving technology platform in real time.

Virtuals is one of our highest revenue-driving verticals, powering engagement and commercial performance across markets. As we expand geographically, the technical complexity increases: more traffic, more integrations, higher performance expectations.

We are hiring an Engineering Manager to lead this evolution.

What You'll Own

This is a full-scope Engineering Manager role combining people leadership, delivery ownership and technical direction.

👥 People & Leadership

• Lead, mentor and develop a team of engineers.

• Run structured performance cycles and development plans.
• Hire and onboard strong talent.
• Foster accountability, collaboration and engineering maturity.
• Shape on-call culture and operational ownership.

We look for leaders who build durable, high-performing teams, not short-term heroics.

🚀 Delivery & Roadmap

• Drive execution of the Virtuals roadmap.
• Own planning, prioritisation and risk management.
• Align engineering delivery with business and product strategy.
• Reduce noise and bring predictability to releases.
• Contribute meaningfully to roadmap definition.

This role requires clarity, structure and strong stakeholder alignment.

🔭 Architecture & Technical Direction

You will guide architectural decisions and engineering standards across:

• Distributed, event-driven systems

• High-concurrency environments
• Microservices architecture
• Domain-driven design
• Technical debt management
• Observability, monitoring and incident resolution
• Security-first mindset

Architectural decisions here are not theoretical, they influence performance, uptime and revenue stability.

Our Stack

We operate with modern, scalable technology including:

• C# / .NET

• Microsoft Azure
• Docker & Kubernetes (AKS)
• MS SQL Server, MongoDB, Redis
• Kafka & RabbitMQ
• Terraform (IaC)
• CI/CD (Azure DevOps)
• Observability & monitoring tools (e.g., Grafana)

We expect technical credibility, not necessarily daily hands-on coding, but the ability to guide and challenge engineering decisions.

You bring:

• Proven experience operating as an Engineering Manager with direct people management responsibility.
• Experience leading engineers in production environments with operational accountability.
• Strong performance leadership: structured feedback, talent development, and constructive handling of underperformance.
• Clear ownership of delivery: planning, prioritisation, risk management and predictable execution.
• Strong stakeholder partnership: able to communicate trade-offs clearly and early.
• Technical credibility: capable of guiding architecture and maintaining standards without micromanaging.

The Leadership Profile We Value

We are deliberate about the managers we hire.

You are:

• A structured, transparent communicator.
• Comfortable making difficult trade-offs.
• Calm under pressure in revenue-critical systems.
• Consistent and thoughtful in decision-making.
• Someone who embodies the standards you expect from your team.
• Focused on sustainable performance over chaos.

We believe strong engineering organisations are built through clarity, consistency and respect.

Nice to Have

• Experience in iGaming, Virtuals, Sportsbook or Casino (Sportsbook particularly transferable).
• Background in high-traffic or revenue-critical systems.
• Experience with distributed or event-driven architectures.
• Experience scaling both teams and engineering practices.

💰 Compensation & Security

• Comprehensive Private Health Insurance: Robust, meaningful coverage, not just basic benefits.
• Performance Bonus: Discretionary rewards aligned with real impact.
• Wellbeing Allowance (€350/year): Dedicated annual budget to support your physical and mental wellbeing.

🌍 Flexibility & Time

• Hybrid by Design: 2 days in-office, 3 days remote. Intentional collaboration, not presenteeism.
• Work From Anywhere (10 Days): Up to 10 business days per year working remotely from wherever you choose.
• Additional Time Off: Extra leave days, including your birthday off.

🚀 Impact & Growth

• Real Leadership Autonomy: Ownership over your team, hiring decisions and delivery model.
• Scale With Impact: Lead a revenue-critical platform expanding into new markets — where engineering decisions directly influence growth.
• True International Scope: Collaborate with engineering and product teams across Nigeria, South Africa, Spain and the UK.

🏢 Environment & Experience

• Healthy, High-Performance Culture: Clear priorities. Direct communication. High standards without ego or chaos.
• Thoughtful Office Experience: Weekly in-office meals, quality coffee, team building budget and snacks and a welcoming team environment.
• Modern Malta Office: Professional workspace with reserved parking.