King, who has been working with the Otago Cricket Association as a development officer for the past four years, takes over from dual English international Clare Taylor.
OCA chief executive Ross Dykes said King, who is in Hong Kong completing a coaching stint, was an excellent technical coach with a level 3 coaching qualification.
"He is a very dedicated bloke and very enthusiastic," Dykes said.
King led Otago Under-17 to a national title in 2007 and was player-coach when Albion won the Otago-Southland section of the national club championships and represented the region at the national finals last summer.
"The opportunity to coach the Otago Sparks is a new but very exciting challenge for me," King said in a statement.
"I look forward to working with some fantastic players but at the same time developing those players just below Sparks level."
Taylor will remain with Otago cricket in the role of sponsorship and hospitality manager.
"She had decided she had done her stint as a coach and gone as far as she could.
"She did a fantastic job in boosting women's cricket in Dunedin and Otago and will continue to help.
But she has got into her new role in a big way and is doing really well," Dykes said.
