Driven By People, Not Borders

What does it take to run a global, high-impact Casino platform? For the DraftKings Casino Engineering team, it’s all about collaboration across continents, cultures, and time zones. In this Q&A, Software Engineering Managers Stoyan and Brett reflect on what makes their cross-continental teamwork effective and how they have created a connection on their team, in their careers, and the product they’re building together.

Tell us a bit about yourselves and your roles.

Stoyan: With over 12 years in the software industry, I’ve held roles ranging from hands-on engineer to technical lead and, for the past several years, engineering manager. I joined DraftKings more than six years ago and have spent my entire tenure focused on the Casino Platform department. In my current role, I oversee a cross-functional squad that builds both the front-end UI components powering our casino games and the back-office tools that give our operations team real-time control over promotions, game configuration, and player support workflows. 

Brett: I’ve been with DraftKings for over three years and have nearly 15 years of experience in software engineering. When I think about what the Casino Platform team does, I see us as the essential infrastructure—the plumbing—that keeps our Casino products running smoothly and performing at a high level. We build the systems and services behind the scenes that power the games and experiences our customers love.

What’s it like being part of a global, multinational team?

Stoyan: Being embedded in a truly global organization—stretching from Sofia, Bulgaria to Boston, Massachusetts and beyond—means every day brings fresh viewpoints, new problem-solving approaches, and unexpected insights. Collaborating across cultures sharpens my communication and fuels my curiosity. I’ve learned to ask more open-ended questions, lean into video calls for tonal clarity, and incorporate feedback styles that respect different norms. These exchanges don’t just improve our code quality; they make me a more empathetic leader. I regularly invite my team to share lessons learned from our peers abroad and incorporate those insights into how we work.

Can you describe your cross-border collaboration?

Brett: I always tell people about my very first meeting at DraftKings—it was with a teammate based in Israel. That was when it really hit me how global this company is. Working across time zones and geographies requires empathy, clear communication, and a lot of collaboration. Time zone differences can become blockers if not managed thoughtfully. But with people like Stoyan, it all flows naturally. We’ve created thoughtful processes—like overlap hours and asynchronous workflows—to reduce friction and keep things moving quickly without stepping on each other’s toes.

What have been the most valuable takeaways from working with a global team?

Stoyan: Working across time zones is a challenge, especially when decisions need to be made fast. We’ve built processes—detailed Jira tickets, documentation in Confluence, and structured Slack threads. We also have daily overlap hours that help unblock issues in real-time. Another big challenge is delivering fast while maintaining system stability. We use feature flags, dark launches, and canary releases so we can release safely and iterate fast. To avoid tech debt slowing us down, we dedicate part of every sprint to modernization, testing, and automation. It’s all about building trust and keeping things sustainable.

Brett: One of the key challenges we face is making our Casino product flexible enough to meet the diverse requirements of different jurisdictions. Each region has its own set of technical and regulatory constraints, which means the product often needs to behave differently depending on where a customer is located. This pushes us to be innovative and thoughtful about how we design and implement features.

What makes the Casino team unique?

Stoyan: We manage multiple processes behind the scenes so that players can hop from one game to another without a hiccup. On top of that, we build and own promotional features like dynamic leaderboards, casino-credit grants, and on-the-fly campaign tools—all personalized to the player’s journey.

Brett: There’s still a startup-like energy in the Casino team. We get to move fast, take ownership, and work on things that have real impact. It’s a rare balance of speed, scale, and autonomy.

How has your career evolved at DraftKings? 

Stoyan: When I first started, I focused on designing and implementing core front-end components for our Casino Platform. About eighteen months into my tenure, I stepped into the Software Engineering Manager role—shifting my focus from feature delivery to growing and empowering my team. Today, I lead a squad of ten engineers.

Brett: Working at DraftKings has been an incredible experience that has significantly contributed to both my professional and personal development. As the Casino product continues to grow, the work we do creates exciting opportunities for my team to take on high-stakes, high-impact projects. Through delivering on these initiatives, we’re not only contributing to the company’s success but also growing in our own careers. I’ve also learned a lot from working with teammates around the world—diverse technical expertise and cultural perspectives have made me a better leader and a better person.

What advice would you give someone considering joining the Casino team?

Stoyan: Come ready to build at scale and learn fast. Our architecture supports millions of sessions daily, with tech like Kafka, Redis, and .NET in the back-end, and React on the front-end. You’ll work closely with product, QA, and engineering peers across Sofia, Boston, and Tel Aviv. It’s a place where your work truly makes a difference, on both the business and the player experience.

Brett: Be proactive and collaborative. Your ideas matter here, and we want people who are excited to contribute. Working well with others across time zones is key. Communication and openness go a long way.

The Casino team is a great example of how our teammates across the globe have learned, adapted, and excelled working with diverse perspectives and skill sets. Everyone’s unique experiences contribute to the success of our products. Ready to build your career with us? Check out our open roles.