Senior Manager, Soccer Analytics & Data Science at MLS League Office
Job Description
Overview
Major League Soccer's Business Insights & Analytics team is a centralized analytics function within Strategy & Business Intelligence, supporting League and Club decision-making through reporting, advanced analytics, data science, and actionable recommendations.
The group is seeking a Senior Manager, Soccer Analytics & Data Science to lead key sporting analytics workstreams within Business Insights & Analytics and serve as a senior analytics partner to Competition, Player Relations, Medical, and other sporting departments. This individual will independently lead major analytical workstreams, shape analytical priorities, and use soccer, player, roster, and competition data to inform strategic decisions and improve the League's sporting product.
The ideal candidate combines strong technical and analytical capabilities with deep soccer knowledge, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to translate complex findings into clear recommendations for senior stakeholders. This individual will serve as a trusted advisor, develop innovative analytical approaches, and help advance the League's use of data and technology across the sporting ecosystem.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a senior analytics partner to Competition, Player Relations, Medical, and other sporting stakeholders, shaping analytical priorities and leading data-driven recommendations on key League initiatives.
- Independently lead complex analytics and data science projects from problem definition and methodology development through analysis, interpretation, and presentation of recommendations to senior stakeholders.
- Leverage event, tracking, roster, financial, and other soccer-related data to evaluate player, club, and competition performance using advanced analytics, statistical methods, and data science techniques.
- Lead the evaluation of League roster rules and initiatives, assessing their impact on competitive performance, player investment, salaries, roster construction, player movement, and other relevant outcomes.
- Lead analysis of competition and rule changes and establish data-driven frameworks for tracking competitive, disciplinary, and officiating KPIs, including those related to the MLS Technical Analysis project and broader domestic and international competition benchmarking.
- Own the development and communication of relevant Pro Player Pathway data, reporting, and insights to support League efforts to understand and strengthen player development pathways.
- Lead and facilitate the Video, Analytics and Sports Science Subcommittee, serving as a knowledgeable custodian of League and Club interests and helping establish and advance priorities across these disciplines.
- Partner with Medical and other sporting stakeholders to identify and analyze relevant player availability, performance, and sports science trends and translate findings into actionable insights.
- Contribute to and help shape League policies and processes related to sporting data usage and governance, including the review and management of approved sporting technologies, third-party vendors, research initiatives, and related use cases.
- Represent Soccer Analytics & Data Science in partnership with Emerging Ventures, leading the sporting evaluation of Innovation Lab companies and advising on potential League and Club applications.
- Apply AI and machine learning to sporting analytics, including event, tracking and video analysis, predictive modeling, pattern identification, and automation of analytical workflows, while ensuring appropriate human oversight and data governance.
- Communicate complex analytical findings through clear, compelling narratives and actionable recommendations, while partnering with the Technology team and colleagues across Strategy & Business Intelligence to advance the data, tools, infrastructure, and processes supporting soccer analytics.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related quantitative field required.
- 7+ years of professional experience in quantitative analytics, data science, strategy, or a related analytical role; experience in soccer or professional sports strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of soccer tactics, match analysis, competition structures, roster construction, player development, and the professional soccer ecosystem.
- Demonstrated experience working with event and tracking data, preferably within soccer.
Required Skills
- Proven track record of independently leading complex analytical workstreams and translating findings into actionable recommendations for senior stakeholders.
- Advanced proficiency in SQL and Python.
- Strong expertise in statistical analysis, quantitative methods, and the application of data science techniques to complex sporting or business questions.
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