Data Scientist

Role Description

The Data Scientist will be part of the Research & Development team, responsible for designing, building and maintaining internal systems used by management, coaches, scouts, analysts, and all other Hockey Operations staff. The primary focus of this role will be creating and communicating knowledge about hockey players, teams, systems, strategies, development, and training using data, often via long-term research projects. This position is available for in-person or remote work (with occasional travel).

• Quantify, evaluate, and project the performance and abilities of hockey players and teams
• Analyze data from all aspects of hockey operations
• Build, validate, and automate models for hockey player and team performance
• Collaborate with other members of the R&D department to address and support all existing data-related requests from across hockey operations
• Create, summarize, and deliver statistical reports to stakeholders across hockey operations
• Communicate effectively and directly with hockey operations staff
• Perform all job duties in a variety of work settings including virtual meetings and distributed work environments, at in-person meetings, via phone/email, and in other settings
• Clearly communicate complex technical concepts to others
• Creatively use existing data to advance our understanding of the sport of hockey, the performance of players and teams, etc.
• Perform ad-hoc and time-sensitive data analyses upon request
• Maintain the utmost confidentiality
• Perform other related duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in statistics, data science, machine learning, computer science, mathematics, engineering, or a related field
• Hockey and/or sports analytics experience is highly preferred
• Demonstrated experience working with player/object tracking data (ex. via computer vision or RFID systems) and/or skeletal tracking data (ex. via pose estimation) is preferred
• Strong knowledge of programming for data analysis, preferably using R and/or Python
• Demonstrated experience working with large, complex datasets
• Experience building a variety of statistical models, and an understanding of those models
• Experience writing shared code and using version control tools in team work environments
• Ability to responsibly analyze and handle sensitive and confidential data
• Ability to work a flexible schedule (including nights, weekends and holidays when necessary) and to occasionally travel

Requirements

• Knowledge of and Applied Experience in Statistics, Machine Learning, Data Science, etc.:
• Experience working on long-term, open-ended, data-driven research problems (preferably in sports analytics)
• Understanding of (and experience building) a variety of statistical models (e.g. generalized linear models, generalized additive models, hierarchical models, mixture models, non-parametric models, tree-based models, Bayesian models, boosting, unsupervised learning, neural networks, time series models, etc.)
• Understanding of modern techniques for analyzing spatio-temporal data, such as recurrent neural networks, convolutional neural networks, transformers, etc.
• Hockey and/or Sports Analytics Experience:
• Deep knowledge of hockey and/or sports analytics
• Strong performance in public data analysis competitions
• Demonstrated experience working with player/object tracking data (e.g. via computer vision or RFID systems) and/or skeletal tracking data (e.g. via pose estimation)
• Critical Competencies:
• Strong attention to detail and highly organized
• Ability to manage multiple projects at once
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Flexibility to adapt to changing priorities
• Collaborative and creative
• Strong problem-solving skills

Compensation

This role will pay between $62,500 - $75,000 annually. Note: Wages will be determined based on factors such as candidate experience, qualifications, skill set and internal equity.

Benefits

• Medical Plans: Comprehensive and affordable medical plans; supplemental vision care, dental care, life insurance coverage, fully paid, short and long-term disability and life insurance coverage.
• Investments: 401(k) with employer matching; annual discretionary defined employer contributions
• Paid Time Off: Paid Volunteer Days
• Sabres Experience: (up to 4) Comp tickets to Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans when available
• Wellness: Annual Health & Wellness fair, monthly wellness initiatives including but not limited to lunch & learns, fitness classes and challenges.
• Sabres Family: many annual social events for employees and their families to enjoy, including various holiday parties and activities. DEI committee with annual initiatives, ERG (Employee Resource Groups), Community Volunteer opportunities and more.