Basketball Data Science & Scheduling Lead

REQ ID: 10823

LOCATION:

New York, NY, United States of America(US), 10022

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.

Major Responsibilities

Lead mathematical optimization methods and processes for creation of NBA game schedule, including year-round execution, team engagement, and use of new best-in-class analytical approaches to optimization
Manage complex data science projects and resources, including identification and preparation of data sources, determination of project plans and milestones, and management of data scientists
Manage long-term planning and partnerships for NBA scheduling software ecosystem
Generate ideas and innovate within and around the game of basketball to grow fan interest in the game and the NBA
Generate insights and prepare reports for senior leadership in League Operations as well as the NBA Senior Leadership Team, and undertake follow-up analysis as directed
Oversee analysis of new data sources and identify patterns and trends to assess data quality and applicability in League Operations decision making

Required Education/Professional Experience

Bachelor's Degree in Math, Computer Science, Statistics, Engineering, or related discipline
Master’s Degree preferred
8+ years of experience in strategy, project management, and/or data analytics, ideally related to basketball or the sports industry
Experience with modeling (e.g., Excel), scripting languages (e.g. R or Python) and data visualization tools (e.g. Shiny or Tableau)
Experience in project management as well as people management and development

Required Skills/Knowledge Attributes

Self-starter with exceptional problem-solving skills and ability to communicate with a nontechnical audience and deal effectively with senior management
A passion for sports and a strong interest in the NBA, its teams and affiliated leagues.
A successful track record of developing, enhancing, and maintaining strong working relationships with both internal and external clients
Confident individual, able to work in a fast-paced environment and manage short term deliverables along with long-term projects.
Proven self-management, problem identification and solution capabilities
Must exercise good judgement and be able to maintain confidentiality with sensitive projects
Ability to work well in a team environment and independently
Strong communication skills (verbal & written)

Salary Range: $180,000 - $240,000

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.