Game Server Engineer Jobs in Phoenix, AZ (NOW HIRING)

AXS connects fans with the artists and teams they love. Each year we sell millions of tickets to thousands of incredible events - from concerts and festivals to sports and theater - at some of the most iconic venues in the world. Since our founding in 2011, we've consistently pushed the industry forward and improved experiences for fans, making it easier than ever to discover events, find the perfect seats, and enjoy unforgettable live entertainment, and we continue to lead the evolution of our industry today.

We're passionate about improving the fan experience and providing game-changing solutions for our clients, and we're always looking for smart, motivated people to help make it happen. Bring your enthusiasm, your big ideas, and your desire to team up with some of the best and brightest in technology and entertainment.  

The Role 

Join us in building the systems behind the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are hiring Senior Backend Engineers to power one of the largest and most demanding ticketing platforms in the world. 

This role focuses on designing and operating distributed systems that must perform reliably under extreme, bursty traffic conditions - such as global on-sale events with massive concurrency and adversarial bot activity. You will work on high-impact systems where performance, fairness, and reliability directly affect millions of users in real time. 

Candidates may be leveled as Senior Engineer I or II based on experience and interview performance. 

What You'll Do 

• Own the design, build, and operation of backend systems powering global ticketing, including LA28. 
• Design distributed systems that handle unpredictable, high-concurrency traffic (10x-100x spikes during on-sale events). 
• Drive architectural decisions across services, balancing trade-offs between scalability, latency, cost, and reliability. 
• Build and evolve API-driven services used by internal systems and external partners at scale. 
• Analyze and optimize system performance using load testing, production telemetry, and observability tooling. 
• Design for correctness under concurrency, including challenges like fairness, queuing, and race conditions. 
• Develop and implement strategies to mitigate fraud, abuse, and bot traffic in high-demand environments. 
• Lead design and code reviews, influencing engineering standards and long-term system architecture. 
• Collaborate with product and business stakeholders to define solutions in ambiguous problem spaces. 
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate iteration and improve code quality. 

What You Bring 

• Strong experience with C# and .NET / .NET Core, or a Java background with willingness to work primarily in C#. 
• Proven experience building and operating distributed systems at scale in production environments. 
• Deep understanding of concurrency, fault tolerance, and system design trade-offs. 
• Experience designing and scaling API-driven services in cloud environments (AWS preferred). 
• Strong experience with performance tuning, bottleneck analysis, and system reliability. 
• Solid foundation in service-oriented or microservices architectures. 
• Experience with relational databases and data modeling at scale (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.). 
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code and modern cloud-native patterns. 
• 4+ years of professional software development experience. 
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience. 
• Experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction. 
• Strong communication skills and a high sense of ownership. 

Nice to Have 

• Experience with event-driven architectures or streaming systems (e.g., Kafka). 
• Experience with NoSQL systems (e.g., DynamoDB, Elasticsearch) in high-scale environments. 
• Familiarity with containerization and infrastructure tooling (Docker, Terraform). 
• Experience in ticketing, e-commerce, or other high-volume transactional domains. 
• Familiarity with TDD/BDD and engineering best practices. 

At AXS, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but can't "check every box" in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles. 

Pay Scale: $130,000 - $150,000

Bonus: This position is eligible for a bonus under the current bonus plan requirements.

Benefits: Full-time: We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes: medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, vacation and sick time, company paid basic life insurance, voluntary life insurance, parental leave, 401k Plan (with a current employer match of 3%), flexible spending and health savings account options, and wellness offerings. Currently, full time employees are eligible for these benefits on the first day of employment.

*Employer does not offer work visa sponsorship for this position.

What's in it for You?

• Extraordinary People - we're not kidding!
• Meaningful Mission- Helping revolutionize an industry and deliver better experiences for fans and clients around the world.
• Development and Learning - Opportunities for learning and leveling up through training and education reimbursement.
• Community & Belonging - A range of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that foster connection, inclusion, and professional growth. Access to meaningful volunteer opportunities and community engagement programs to make a positive impact beyond the workplace.

More about AXS

AXS, a subsidiary of AEG, sells millions of tickets each year for 1600+ premier venues, sports teams, and event organizers across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Headquartered in Downtown Los Angeles, California, AXS employs more than 900 professionals in multiple locations worldwide. In each location you'll find a team of dedicated, diverse employees (we've dubbed ourselves "Fanatix") who create groundbreaking products and services in a fun, fast-paced environment. 

More about AEG

For more than 20 years, AEG has played a pivotal role in transforming sports and live entertainment. Annually, we host more than 160 million guests, promote more than 10,000 shows and present more than 22,000 events around the world. We are committed to innovation, artistry, and community, and leverage the power of our 300+ venues, leading sports franchises, marquee music brands, integrated entertainment districts, premier ticketing platform and global sponsorship activations, to create memorable moments that give the world reason to cheer.
Our business is interwoven with the human mind and heart, and we strive to build a diverse and inclusive company that reflects the artists, athletes, and fans that we host; reach beyond traditional boundaries to support the communities in which we operate; and minimize our impact on the environment by adopting sustainable practices throughout our business operations.

We are dedicated to a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but can't "check every box" in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.

AEG reserves the right to change or modify the employee's job description whether orally or in writing, at any time during the employment relationship.  AEG may require an employee to perform duties outside their normal description.

AEG's policy is to hire the most qualified applicants, and we comply with all applicable federal, state and local employment laws in making hiring and employee decisions.  We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, marital status, disability, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected status recognized by applicable federal, state or local law.

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