Head of Player Health & Mental Performance

Washington Nationals; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 225,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, life and AD&D

Short- and long-term disability

Flexible spending accounts

401(k) and pension

Complimentary Nationals tickets

Employee discounts

Free onsite fitness center

Job summary

Washington Nationals are seeking a Director of Player Health and Mental Performance to lead Medical and Mental Performance programs across the organization. Build a proactive, player-centered system to improve availability, long-term health, and mental skills for sustained performance.

Based in Washington, D.C., the role requires collaboration with Physical Development, Sports Science, and skills departments.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree and professional licensure or certification in a related healthcare field.
• Significant leadership experience in professional sports or high-performance environments; baseball experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of injury prevention, rehabilitation, testing, workload monitoring, and return-to-performance decisions.
• 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 integration into athlete development.
• Ability to interpret data 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 English/Spanish is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead Major and Minor League Medical staffs and establish consistent organizational standards for care and injury management.
• Oversee rehab and return-to-performance decisions with clear clinical criteria.
• Manage player-health transitions across affiliates and teams.
• Use injury, testing, workload, and availability data to identify trends and improve practices.
• Develop and implement an organizational Mental Performance philosophy across levels.
• Integrate mental performance into player plans, training, and staff education.
• Ensure confidentiality and refer to licensed professionals when needed.
• Hire, develop, and evaluate Medical and Mental Performance staff; support professional growth.
• Align Medical, Mental Performance, and other departments around individualized healthy plans.
• Establish KPIs for health, availability, rehab, recurrence, and return-to-performance.

Skills

Advanced degree

Leadership experience

Injury prevention

Return-to-performance

Multidisciplinary staff

Mental performance

Data interpretation

Communication

Bilingual (EN/ES)

Education

Advanced degree with licensure/certification

Mental performance certification

Tools

Injury testing protocols

Statistical data interpretation

Job description

Washington Nationals are seeking a Director of Player Health and Mental Performance to lead Medical and Mental Performance programs across the organization. Build a proactive, player-centered system to improve availability, long-term health, and mental skills for sustained performance.

Based in Washington, D.C., the role requires collaboration with Physical Development, Sports Science, and skills departments.