Senior Sport & Data Scientist — Elite Soccer Analytics

Philadelphia Union; Chester (Delaware County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical plan options

Dental and vision coverage

401(k) with match

Life and disability insurance

Paid leave (medical and baby-bonding)

Mental health resources

Wellness reimbursements

Employee discounts

Complimentary or discounted tickets

On-site fitness center

Job summary

Union Sports & Entertainment, parent to the Philadelphia Union, is building a world-class sporting organization through data-driven player development and innovation. The Senior Sport & Data Scientist will bridge sport science, medical, performance, and data science functions across the First Team, Union II, and Academy.

The role supports data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of player performance data while contributing to the club’s data infrastructure and analytical

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.

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.

Skills

GPS tracking

Python

SQL

ML modeling

Data pipelines

Cloud platforms

Databricks

AWS

Power BI

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Sport Science, Data Science, Computer Science, Exercise Science, or related field

Tools

Databricks

AWS

Power BI

Job description

Union Sports & Entertainment, parent to the Philadelphia Union, is building a world-class sporting organization through data-driven player development and innovation. The Senior Sport & Data Scientist will bridge sport science, medical, performance, and data science functions across the First Team, Union II, and Academy.

The role supports data collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of player performance data while contributing to the club’s data infrastructure and analytical