zlacker

Houston Astros|Houston,Texas| Baseball Research Analyst|Full-Time|ONSITE

The Astros are looking for a new analyst to join our R&D team. We deal with every aspect of the game, from supporting coaches developing minor league players to determining where a left fielder should stand given a certain batter/pitcher matchup. We have mountains of data, and we have an organization that is willing to listen to the analysts and try things out. If you're interested in feeding terabytes of data into powerful machines and leveraging your considerable cleverness, education, and domain knowledge to make a 3" ball go faster- we want to hear from you.

We're a generally Bayesian group, and so we're looking for someone who has experience with some Bayesian tools. On the python side we use quite a bit of numpyro (and we love JAX) and there are some RStan models floating around too. Really we want someone who thinks it's fun to stay at the cutting edge. We have a ton of data, we care about out of sample prediction, and I haven’t seen a p-value since I started working here (which is a good thing).

I found this job on a HackerNews Who’s Hiring post 8 seasons ago and I have really loved it ever since. There is freedom here to explore new ideas and technology. There is organizational buy in- If you can make a case for a course of action, you might see the team try it out on TV that night. I have 2 World Series rings with my name on them and my kids love coming to work (if I stuff them full of cotton candy). You don't have any game time duties, but you do get free tickets.

Knowing about and loving baseball is not a requirement, but it would be a plus. Don't let that keep you from reaching out. If you want to apply or just ask any questions, feel free to shoot me an email (rferguson at astros dotcom)

https://www.teamworkonline.com/baseball-jobs/houstonbaseball...

>>ryanfe+(OP)
Please provide a salary range for the benefit of all interested.

A few years ago I presented a paper at an analytics conference and immediately had about 10 teams reach out to schedule interviews, but all discussion ended when it came time to talk money. I could never figure out what the teams were expecting to pay, but from all appearances it was "comically low" - something that made very little sense given how much teams are willing to pay for a player with a tiny WAR.

>>Kon-Pe+ae
I think it really depends on the qualifications of the individual applicant. I've been here a while and I'm senior level but I make more than I would as a professor somewhere and more than I would at the lab I used to work at. If you're interested shoot me an email and we can talk about it there, but I'm not the King of Hiring so I'm not going to throw something out there.

>>ryanfe+(OP)
Always looking for an advantage, those Astros. Trash-can banging experience a plus.

>>ryanfe+Hl
> I think it really depends on the qualifications of the individual.

You have me curious because I have never even attempted to apply for one of these upper tier jobs I see on HN. Don't companies typically know what they are willing to pay a new hire for any position? I would assume they like to figure that out ahead of time for budgeting reasons, but I don't know.

>>Kon-Pe+ae
*negative WAR

>>ryanfe+Hl
The reason that pay transparency laws (which probably don't apply to this position, but exist in other states) require salary ranges and not a specific number is precisely to account for the fact that different applicants with different levels of qualification may merit different compensation in the same role based on the impact they can have. So "depends on the qualifications of the individual applicant" is kind of besides the point; a wide range can account for that.

"I'm not the King of Hiring" is fair though, if you're in a jurisdiction where there is no transparency law and you're not setting policy for your company, you may well be required not to provide this information publicly and that's just how it is.

>>Kon-Pe+ae
I know people who do/did work for a professional team. The justification is there is a huge line of people who want to “work in sports” so they can underpay the front office staff, and it is true. I knew a few people who stayed interns for multiple years in the hope that they would get converted into full time roles at some point.

>>engine+xC
I’m an absolute baseball nut and would absolutely love to work for an MLB team, can’t do it for the ‘stros.

>>makest+Qz1
yep - professional sports teams expect to underpay market rates for technical talent b/c they assume they'll always find people to fill the roles. They're expecting charity. If you like sports / tech / math - just do it as a hobby and get paid what you're worth at your day job.