Position SummaryThe Washington Nationals are seeking a Director of Player Health and Mental Performance to lead the organization's Medical and Mental Performance programs across the Major and Minor Leagues.
This role will build a proactive, objective-informed, and player-centered system designed to improve player availability, support long-term health, and develop the mental skills required for sustained performance. The Director will establish organizational standards, develop staff, and ensure consistent processes around medical care, injury prevention, testing, rehabilitation, return to performance, and mental performance development.
The Director will serve on the Player Development leadership team and work closely with Physical Development, Sports Science, and the skill departments. The ideal candidate is a collaborative leader who combines strong clinical expertise with sound decision-making, clear communication, and the ability to build systems that can be consistently executed across the organization.
This position will be based in Washington D.C.
Primary Responsibilities- Player Health
- Lead the Major League and Minor League Medical staffs and establish consistent organizational standards for assessment, diagnosis, treatment, injury prevention, testing, rehabilitation, and emergency care.
- Ensure rehabilitation and return-to-performance decisions are supported by clear clinical findings, objective criteria, and timely communication.
- Oversee player-health transitions between affiliates, rehabilitation, the Major League team, and the offseason to ensure continuity of care and clear ownership.
- Use injury, testing, workload, treatment, and availability information to identify trends, evaluate outcomes, and proactively improve organizational practices.
- Mental Performance
- Develop and implement an organizational Mental Performance philosophy that supports player development, preparation, confidence, resilience, decision-making, and performance under pressure.
- Integrate mental performance into player plans, daily training, rehabilitation, transitions, and staff education across every level.
- Establish clear standards for player confidentiality, documentation, and referral to licensed mental health professionals when a player's needs extend beyond mental performance coaching.
- Leadership and Integration
- Hire, develop, evaluate, and support Medical and Mental Performance staff while creating clear expectations and opportunities for continued professional growth.
- Align Medical, Mental Performance, Physical Development, Rehabilitation, and the skill departments around individualized plans for healthy and injured players.
- Establish organizational KPIs for player health, availability, rehabilitation, recurrence, and return to performance, and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of departmental processes.
- Evaluate research, technology, and industry practices to continually improve medical care, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and mental performance programming.
- Communicate clearly with players, coaches, staff, and organizational leadership regarding player health, availability, departmental priorities, and areas requiring action.
Qualifications- Advanced degree and appropriate professional licensure or certification in athletic training, physical therapy, medicine, or a related healthcare field.
- Significant leadership experience within professional sports, collegiate athletics, or another high-performance environment; professional baseball experience is preferred.
- Strong understanding of injury prevention, rehabilitation, objective testing, workload monitoring, and return-to-performance decision-making.
- Experience building and implementing evidence-led systems across multiple teams, locations, or levels.
- Demonstrated ability to hire, educate, develop, and evaluate multidisciplinary staff.
- Understanding of applied mental performance principles and experience integrating mental performance into athlete development.
- Ability to interpret data and research and translate complex information into clear, practical decisions.
- Strong communication, collaboration, organization, and problem-solving skills.
- Mental Performance certification or advanced training is a plus.
- Bilingual in English and Spanish is a plus.
CompensationThe projected annual salary range for this position is $225,000 - $300,000 per year. Actual pay is based on several factors, including but not limited to the applicant's: qualifications, skills, expertise, education/training, certifications, and other organization requirements. Starting salaries for new employees are frequently not at the top of the applicable salary range.
BenefitsThe Nationals offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package that presently includes:
- Medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance
- Short- and long-term disability insurance
- Flexible spending accounts
- 401(k) and pension plan
- Access to complimentary tickets to Nationals home games
- Employee discounts
- Free onsite fitness center
