ABOUT THE ROLEUnion Sports & Entertainment is committed to building a world-class sporting organization through player development, innovation, and a clearly defined methodology. Through its first team, academy, and professional development pathways, the Union strives to leverage data and technology to gain competitive advantages on and off the field. The Senior Sport & Data Scientist will bridge the club's sport science, medical, performance, and data science functions. This role will support the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of player performance data while contributing to the development of the club's data infrastructure and analytical capabilities across the First Team, Union II, and Academy. RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage and analyze GPS, athlete monitoring, and physical assessment data across the club.
• Develop performance benchmarks, player profiles, and longitudinal monitoring systems.
• Work with performance, medical, coaching, and technical staff to translate data into actionable insights.
• Develop dashboards, reports, and analytical tools supporting player performance and development.
• Support research and modeling related to training load, match demands, player development, return to-play, and performance optimization.
• Work alongside the Director of Data Science & Engineering to develop and maintain the club's Lakehouse architecture and data ecosystem.
• Develop and maintain data pipelines integrating sport science, performance, medical, technical, and other club data sources.
• Work within Databricks and AWS to support data processing, storage, analytics, and application development.
• Develop statistical and machine-learning models supporting athlete monitoring, player development, and sporting decision-making.
• Support data quality, documentation, governance, and engineering standards across the organization.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's or Master's degree (preferred) in Sport Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Exercise Science, or related field.
• 4+ years of experience in sport science, data science, sports analytics, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of GPS/player tracking, athlete monitoring, physical performance testing, and training-load analysis. Strong proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Experience with statistical analysis, predictive modeling, and machine learning.
• Experience with data pipelines, APIs, databases, and modern data architecture.
• Experience with cloud data platforms; Databricks and AWS experience preferred. • Experience with business intelligence platforms such as Power BI.
• Experience within professional or elite sport preferred.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work across performance, medical, technical, and analytics departments.

WHO YOU ARE You are a performance-minded data professional who understands that great analysis only matters when it helps people make better decisions. You are equally comfortable working with athlete monitoring data, building analytical models, and sitting with coaches, medical staff, and performance practitioners to translate findings into practical action. You thrive at the intersection of sport science, data science, and technology and are excited by the opportunity to help build a modern, connected performance-data environment across the Philadelphia Union. You are:

• Curious and analytical. You naturally dig deeper into data, ask thoughtful questions, identify patterns, and look for opportunities to improve how player performance and development are understood.
• Fluent in performance. You understand GPS and player-tracking data, physical testing, training load, match demands, and athlete-monitoring principles-and how those measures translate to the realities of elite soccer.
• Technically capable. You are comfortable working in Python and SQL, developing data pipelines and analytical tools, and using modern cloud and data platforms to turn complex datasets into reliable, usable information.
• A translator, not just an analyst. You can take complex models, datasets, and technical concepts and communicate them clearly to coaches, medical professionals, performance staff, technical leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Collaborative by nature. You enjoy working across disciplines and recognize that the strongest sporting decisions come from combining data with the expertise and experience of practitioners.
• Detail-oriented and disciplined. You care about data quality, documentation, repeatable processes, and building systems that others can trust.
• Development-focused. You are interested not only in evaluating where a player is today, but also in understanding their progression over time and identifying insights that can support long-term player development.
• Comfortable in a high-performance environment. You can balance long-term projects with the changing priorities and fast-moving demands of professional soccer.
• Always learning. You stay curious about emerging research, technologies, analytical methods, and best practices in sport science and data science and look for thoughtful ways to apply them within the club.

WHY THE UNION? At Union Sports & Entertainment, development is in our DNA. From our world-class academy to our front office, we believe in identifying talent early, investing in it fully, and creating real pathways for growth. If you're driven, coachable, and willing to put in the work, the Union will match your ambition. You'll join a competitive, high-energy environment where:

• People get better every day as leaders and teammates
• Winning matters, but how we win matters just as much
• Coaching, feedback, and accountability are part of the culture, not buzzwords
• Soccer passion is real and matchdays mean something here

We celebrate effort, creativity, and results. We challenge each other. We have fun. And we take pride in developing future leaders who go on to make an impact across the sports industry. We are committed to supporting the health, well-being, and professional success of our employees. Our comprehensive Total Rewards package includes paid time off, multiple medical plan options, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending and health savings accounts, a 401(k) plan with Company match, Company-paid life and disability insurance, paid medical and baby-bonding leave, mental health resources, wellness reimbursements, and employee discounts. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as the candidate's qualifications, skills, relevant experience, internal equity, and prevailing business and market conditions. Employees may also enjoy complimentary or discounted tickets, match-day meals, access to our on-site fitness center and café, complimentary coffee beverages, Summer Friday hours, and employee engagement events throughout the year. Eligibility for specific benefits may vary based on position and employment status.