Job Posting: Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Operations Data Architect

Position: Toronto Blue Jays Manager of Baseball Analytics

Location: Toronto

Description:

The primary focus of this position will be to support the Baseball Analytics Department. Incumbent will learn and understand how decisions are made in all areas of Baseball Operations, develop a familiarity with the data required to make those decisions and create tools and systems to display and expedite the access to that data.

Responsibilities:

  • Understand and document current database structures, historical design decisions, format, definitions, limitations and content of currently used external and internal data feeds, and establish future requirements.
  • Maintain and support the current end to end data warehousing process within Baseball Operations, starting with structured and unstructured data, conceiving and designing appropriate data structures, performing ETL processes to house the data in the data structures and exposing the data structures to end users.
  • Design and manage a new data warehouse capable of supporting reporting and analytics to improve the currently deployed systems.
  • Develop and maintain data quality assurance processes to ensure database integrity in the future.
  • Complete ad-hoc database queries and analysis as dictated by circumstances.
  • Oversee the evaluation, selection, implementation and support of new database systems.
  • Collaborate with members of the Baseball Operations department to develop best practices for storing and displaying baseball data.
  • Recommend new data sources for purchase and/or new techniques to gather data.
  • Develop and maintain conceptual, logical and physical data models.

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or equivalent professional experience required. Master’s degree a plus.
  • 5-8 years of related work experience is required, including demonstrated knowledge about data management best practices, long-term maintainability of code and ability to effectively solve problems pertaining to data infrastructure and integrity.
  • Must have demonstrated some ability to complete baseball-specific statistical analysis.
  • Previous experience with baseball-specific data, either publically available or otherwise (i.e. Pitch F/X, TrackMan, Statcast, etc.).
  • Proven background in the ability to relate to and communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds (programmers, analysts, outside data vendors, other front office members, and Major and Minor League coaches, possibly players).
  • Demonstrated ability to successfully design and execute data warehousing projects.
  • Expertise with SQL and relational databases is required.
  • Experience with at least one of Python, Ruby, Perl, C++ and/or other programming languages’ is required.
  • Experience processing large amounts of JSON formatted data strongly preferred.
  • Represent the Blue Jays in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
  • Ability to work evening, weekend and holiday hours as dictated by the baseball calendar.
  • Willing and able to relocate to Toronto.

To Apply:
Interested applicants must do the following:

  1. Why do you want to work in baseball?
  2. Describe a time when you either built a production-level database from scratch or added a new data source to an existing production-level database and explain the steps you took to make sure the process went smoothly.
  3. Please describe any work you’ve done with any publicly available baseball databases.





Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.

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astropcrmember
8 years ago

That sounds like a cool job. Too bad I have little DB expertise.

Bradley Woodrummember
8 years ago
Reply to  astropcr

So say we all.