Basketball Data Science Lead

WORK OPTION: 4 days a week in the New York, NY office

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2023-24 season featured a record 125 international players from 40 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 2.3 billion likes and followers globally across all leagues, team and player platforms.  NBA Cares, the NBA’s global social responsibility platform, partners with renowned community-based organizations around the world to address important social issues in the areas of education, inclusion, youth and family development, and health and wellness. 
 

Group Summary:

The Basketball Strategy & Analytics department is responsible for data collection, analysis and technology pertaining to all on-court activities. The group, in partnership with Referee Operations, oversees the Game Review Program to help drive improvements in referee performance and rules clarification initiatives. Basketball Strategy & Analytics also leads pivotal initiatives focused on innovating and improving the NBA game, such as rules changes, improvements to the competition format and implementation of technologies to improve player health, game integrity and fan engagement. 

The Basketball R&D team is a new function within the Basketball Strategy & Analytics department. This team is focused on innovating the on-court product through internally developed and deployed technologies. They spearhead key officiating technology initiatives from concept to launch, leveraging their cross-discipline expertise in real-time perception and sensing, computer vision, machine learning, and data analytics. The primary near-term focus of this team is deploying a system that can automatically detect and determine objective calls (e.g., out-of-bounds) in real-time during live NBA games.

Position Summary:
The NBA is seeking an experienced data scientist to join the newly formed Basketball R&D team as a founding member. The Data Science Lead will report to the Basketball Technology and Innovation Lead and play a utility role on the team. The Data Science Lead will contribute across the stack – from model development to stakeholder communication – to enhance call accuracy, improve game flow, and create more transparency for officiating in the NBA.

Major Responsbilities:

• Conduct research and build proof-of-concept algorithms and models leveraging data from new sensing modalities and innovative ML methodologies.
• Develop measurement frameworks to set team goals, evaluate progress, and make product launch decisions.
• Communicate sophisticated data science concepts and findings to non-technical stakeholders (e.g. league and team officials).
• Partner with Tech Lead Manager and BSA / League Ops leadership to set direction and roadmaps for the product team, using data to inform decision-making.
• Partner with the Stats & Technology team to build and maintain data infrastructure required to achieve the team’s goals.
• Partner with the Consumer Insights team to measure and track fan sentiment toward automated officiating.

Required Education/Professional Experience:

• Master’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in analytics roles solving large-scale, complex problems using data.
• Experience with data querying languages (e.g., SQL), scripting languages (e.g., Python), and ML and data visualization libraries and tools.
• Experience working with spatiotemporal datasets (e.g., sports tracking data).

Required Skills/Knowledge Attributes:

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively on multi-functional teams.
• Passion for basketball and a deep understanding of officiating.

Salary Range: [[$170,000 - $190,000]] 

Job Posting Title: [[Director]] 

The NBA does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or any other third parties. Any unsolicited resume sent to the NBA will be considered NBA property, and the NBA will not pay a fee should it hire the subject of any unsolicited resume. 

The NBA considers applicants for all positions on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs, and without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, alienage or citizenship status, ancestry, marital status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, veteran status, familial status, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

About the NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2021-22 season featured a record 121 international players from 40 countries.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.