Position : Data Scientist, Baseball Research
Overview :
The Blue Jays are seeking a Data Scientist to join our team and push our organization forward through the utilization of cutting-edge data methodologies and emerging technology.
The ideal candidate will have experience taking data science problems from the idea / planning phase through completion and implementation while collaborating with others.
Primary Focus :
- To conduct baseball research and contribute to ongoing departmental research.
- To create tools that incorporate data into the decision-making process, as well as learning how decisions are made in all areas of Baseball Operations and working to improve those processes.
- To challenge current technical processes, explore new data sources that could provide competitive advantages, and propose novel ways to solve data-intensive problems.
Responsibilities and Duties :
- Design, test, implement and maintain advanced baseball metrics and predictive models to contribute to strategy and decisions across all departments within Baseball Operations.
- Conduct empirical research related to baseball strategy, player evaluation and player development whilst understanding how findings would apply to better decision making and increased operational effectiveness.
- Offer technical expertise to other members of the Baseball Research Department, providing constructive feedback and guidance.
- Collaborate with the front office, coaches, and scouts while conducting research. Results of this work should help those within the organization better understand, consider, and apply the use of information and data to their decisions.
- Work with the Development team to integrate new information into existing Baseball Operations processes and infrastructure.
Experience and Job Requirements :
- 4+ years working in the data science field, building predictive models and communicating results to non-technical users.
- Passion for baseball and excellent reasoning, problem-solving, creative thinking, and communication skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals including members of the front office, scouts, and field staff.
- Demonstrated ability to successfully design and execute rigorous quantitative research projects.
- Strong understanding of current baseball research.
- Proficiency with R, Python, or other similar statistical language.
- Proficiency with SQL and relational databases.
- The ability to work with multicultural populations and a commitment to fairness and equality.
- Ability to work occasional evening, weekend, and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.
Beneficial Experience :
- Ph.D. or Master’s degree in a quantitative field.
- Demonstrated experience with :
- Stan or another probabilistic programming language.
- Computer vision models and techniques.
- Machine learning methods, including clustering, boosting models, and neural networks.
- Timeseries analysis and biomechanical data.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.