Senior Data Scientist, Hockey Operations- Organization: Florida Panthers Hockey Club
- Department: Hockey Operations - Research & Development
- Reports To: Director of Research and Development
- FLSA Status: Exempt (Salaried)
- Employment Type: Full-Time
- Location: Baptist Health IcePlex, Fort Lauderdale, FL - On-Site
- Schedule: Flexibility required for evenings, weekends, and holidays during key periods of the hockey calendar (Trade Deadline, Amateur Draft, Training Camp)
Job SummaryAs a Senior Data Scientist, you will be a foundational member of the R&D team responsible for driving analytical initiatives related to Hockey Operations and its supporting departments. You will build and deploy models, metrics, and tools that inform Hockey Operations decision-making and help communicate those insights clearly to stakeholders at all levels.
This role requires strong analytical depth, proficiency across the modern hockey analytics stack, and the ability to translate complex findings into compelling, actionable outputs. You will report directly to the Director of Research and Development and play a meaningful role in shaping how the organization applies data to competitive decision-making.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities- Build, maintain, and enhance analytical tools, metrics, and models in support of Hockey Operations' initiatives and decision-making
- Create data visualizations and reports that communicate key ideas, findings, and recommendations in an accessible and compelling way for both technical and non-technical audiences
- Represent R&D in discussing new projects, priorities, and analytical deliverables with coaches, scouts, and Hockey Operations decision-makers
- Contribute to the mentorship and professional development of junior analysts, providing feedback, code reviews, and guidance as needed
- Collaborate with analysts and engineers to ensure production-ready data products are available to decision-makers in a timely manner
- Continuously evolve the organization's analytical capabilities and practices to remain at the cutting edge of hockey analytics research
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in a related technical field required; advanced degree preferred
- Minimum of 3-5 years of professional experience in an analytical role, ideally within sports or a data-intensive industry
- Prior experience working in hockey analytics, sports R&D, or with NHL-specific data sources preferred
- Expertise in production-grade predictive modeling, machine learning, and statistical methods
- Working knowledge of cloud computing, storage, and data warehousing platforms
- Strong proficiency in SQL and Python for analytical modeling, data manipulation, and pipeline development
- Knowledgeable in hockey analytics, NHL data sources, and the concepts that drive modern hockey evaluation; familiarity with multipoint skeletal tracking or spatiotemporal sports data is a plus
- Strong communication skills - able to deliver findings clearly to Hockey Operations staff
- Creative mindset, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to operate in a learning culture
Position Type / Expected Hours of WorkThis is a full-time exempt (salaried) position. You will be on-site at our facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, working alongside Hockey Operations staff daily. Must be able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays during key periods of the hockey schedule.
