Principal Front End Software Engineer

At KingMakers, we’re not here to follow the industry, we’re here to define it.

We are a proudly homegrown African company, building the future of sports and iGaming entertainment across the continent. Since our launch in 2018, we’ve created platforms that connect millions of fans to the excitement they love through our leading brands, BetKing and SuperSportBet.

From Nigeria to South Africa, we’ve rapidly grown into a powerhouse, recognized for raising standards, pushing boundaries, and shaping what’s next in our industry. Our vision is bold: to be the home where Africa plays.

Collaboration, innovation, and fearless execution define our culture. Every decision is purposeful, every interaction impactful, and every product designed to serve our players and partners with excellence.

We move fast, stay curious, and constantly raise the bar. Our mission is to deliver entertainment with integrity, innovation, and impact, because great products can change how entire communities experience play.

Role Overview

As a Principal Frontend Software Engineer at KingMakers, you will be a floating technical resource operating across the Sportsbook and Revenue Product domains, with a primary focus on delivering best-in-class frontend experiences for our sports betting platforms.

You will lead the design, development, and evolution of highly resilient, low-latency, and scalable frontend applications — with a current focus on bet content delivery, sports data visualisation, odds and push pricing, and sportsbook frontend enhancements. You'll work closely with Product Managers, Designers, Backend Engineers, and senior technical stakeholders across domains to influence architecture, establish engineering standards, and drive delivery at pace.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who moves fast, takes ownership, and is excited about shaping the future of sports and gaming technology across Africa.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in frontend design and development.
• Strong expertise in full-stack development, REST principles, UI design, implementation, testing, and support.
• Proven experience mentoring and coaching other engineers.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

• JavaScript/React: Advanced knowledge for building complex, production-grade applications.
• Frameworks: Deep expertise in React; familiarity with Remix is a strong advantage.
• HTML5/CSS3: Proficiency in semantic HTML, CSS, and preprocessors (e.g. Sass, Less).
• Version Control: Strong experience with Git and collaborative workflows.
• Build Tools: Familiarity with modern frontend build tools (Webpack, Babel, Vite, etc.).
• Performance Optimisation: Strong knowledge of techniques to enhance app speed, responsiveness, and resilience under high load.
• Testing: Hands-on experience with unit, integration, and end-to-end testing.
• API Integration: Proficiency with RESTful and GraphQL APIs.
• Edge & CDN: Experience with Cloudflare Workers, Pages, or similar edge publishing workflows is advantageous.
• AI Tooling: Comfortable adopting and integrating AI-assisted development tools into daily workflows.
• UI/UX Principles: Solid understanding of design principles, accessibility, and responsive design.
• Security Best Practices: Awareness of common web vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies.
• Architecture Patterns: Experience with component-based design and micro-frontend architectures.
• DevOps/CI/CD: Understanding of CI/CD practices for frontend deployments.

Soft Skills

• Strong ownership mindset — you take initiative, speak up, and see things through.
• Ability to adapt fast, operate with limited context, and still deliver quality work.
• Leadership and mentorship skills to guide and grow team members.
• Excellent communication for conveying technical concepts clearly across teams and seniority levels.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills with a bias for action.
• Attention to detail to deliver polished, production-ready solutions.
• Collaborative and cross-functional by nature.
• Empathy for users — especially those on constrained devices or low-bandwidth environments.

What You Will Be Doing

• Technical Leadership: Set and uphold high standards for frontend code quality, maintainability, and performance across the Sportsbook and Revenue Product domains.
• Cross-Domain Contribution: Operate as a floating principal resource, contributing to multiple teams and systems, and helping shape and clean up frontend architecture across the organisation.
• Sportsbook Focus: Drive frontend development on core sportsbook features including bet content presentation, sports data and odds display, push pricing, and Cloudflare-based publishing workflows.
• AI-First Mindset: Actively adopt and champion AI tooling to accelerate delivery, improve code quality, and move faster — this is a non-negotiable part of how we work going forward.
• Mentorship & Upskilling: Guide and uplift junior and mid-level engineers through code reviews, pairing, and knowledge sharing. Raise the bar for frontend engineering across teams.
• Delivery: Take full ownership of your area of focus — from scoping to shipping — covering all aspects of your project and delivering across different systems and domains.
• Architecture & Standards: Contribute to and enforce frontend architectural decisions, component standards, and engineering best practices across teams.
• Performance Optimisation: Build fast, responsive, accessible applications optimised for high-traffic, high-volume environments — including users on low-end devices and constrained infrastructure.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work seamlessly with backend engineers, product managers, designers, and other stakeholders to deliver integrated, high-quality solutions.
• Quality & Testing: Implement automated testing strategies to ensure robust, bug-free releases across systems.
• On-Call: Be part of on-call rotations for critical systems, with a focus on root-cause prevention, not firefighting.

How You Do It – Our CROWNS, Our Values

At KingMakers, our CROWNS values aren’t posters on the wall — they’re how we work and win together:

• Customer First: Build with and for our customers. Always deliver meaningful value.
• Raise the Bar: Take initiative, own outcomes, and push for better every time.
• Operate with Candor: Be open, clear, and constructive. Speak truth with kindness.
• We Build Together: Collaborate, share the load, and succeed as a team.
• No Hesitation, Never Reckless: Move boldly and responsibly. Own your risks.
• Speed & Iteration: Act fast, learn fast, improve fast. Progress beats perfection.

Benefits

• Pension Fund (Liberty Life): Company-supported retirement plan with employer matching contributions.
• Medical Aid (Discovery Health): Company contribution towards your monthly medical cover premiums.
• Comprehensive Group Risk Cover: Includes life insurance, disability income protection, critical illness benefit, and funeral cover for you and eligible dependants, as per scheme rules.
• Performance Bonus: Discretionary bonus aligned with individual impact and overall contribution.
• Employee Wellness Programme (ICAS / October Health): Confidential counselling and holistic support services available to you and your immediate family.
• Annual Leave & Birthday Day Off: 20 working days of annual leave per year, plus one additional paid day off on your birthday.
• Work From Anywhere (10 Days): Up to 10 business days per year to work remotely from a location of your choice.
• Hybrid & Flexible Working: This role follows a hybrid model with 2 days in-office and 3 days remote, structured around team and operational needs.
• Parking: Complimentary company-supported parking at our office, providing easy access to a prime professional workspace

*Eligibility for the discretionary bonus depends on the onboarding cycle and start date; employees joining after a certain point in the year may not be eligible for the 2026 cycle.

KingMakers is an equal opportunity employer committed to building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities and markets we serve across Africa. In line with our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities as our commitment to creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. In accordance with our Employment Equity goals, preference may be given to candidates from designated groups, where appropriate.