The Data Scientist will develop algorithms for high school sports rankings, provide insights for strategy, and collaborate with teams for data-driven decisions.
Playon is looking for a Data Scientist to lead the development of sports rankings systems and internal performance metrics. This role will focus primarily on building datas and algorithms to generate national and state rankings for high school teams to appear on MaxPreps. In addition, you'll support the organization with business intelligence insights to inform strategy, operations, and engagement.
In this role, you will leverage your backend development experience and passion for building quality products to make meaningful contributions to our fans’ experience.
The outcomes you’ll deliver
· Develop a variety of rankings algorithms for high school sports
· Provide data insights to inform product strategy
In This Role, You Can Expect To
- Design and implement data-driven ranking algorithms for sports teams including predictive rankings
- Continuously refine rankings formulas based on feedback from stakeholders
- Ensure the rankings are explainable for public-facing applications
- Create visualizations of rankings to present data in interactive formats for users and stakeholders
- Collaborate with product, engineering, data, and operations teams to turn data into actionable business insights
- Build and maintain dashboards and reports that provide operational insights for decision-makers.
- Analyze user engagement and other KPIs to inform product strategies
To Thrive In This Role, You Have
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or equivalent experience) in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or related field.
- 2+ years of experience in data science or sports analytics.
- Proficiency in Python, R, or similar data analysis tools.
- Advanced SQL skills with a strong focus on PostgreSQL for efficient extraction and processing of large relational datasets.
- Ability to leverage AI tools and techniques for data analysis, trend detection, and extraction of actionable insights.
- Experience extracting and integrating data from RESTful APIs for analysis and storage.
- Familiarity with BI tools such as Tableau
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex information
How You Play
- Ownership over Participation- You take responsibility for achieving holistic outcomes, prioritize key objectives, and adapt quickly when situations require a different approach. You follow through even against the toughest challenges.
- Team over Stars- You are a bridge builder, establishing processes and relationships with teams outside your own. You work to rally around common goals, find win-win solutions, compromise when necessary, and help others succeed.
- Growth over Comfort- You are driven by a desire to grow and actively seek opportunities to expand your comfort zone, skills, and confidence. You embrace new challenges with curiosity, accepting discomfort and failure as opportunities to learn.
- Fairness over Popularity- You approach decisions with a scientist’s mindset, challenging your assumptions and remaining objective. You consider long-term impact rather than relying on short-term gains, proactively seek others’ perspectives, and manage emotions in decision-making.
#LI-DNI
Company Overview
PlayOn is a dynamic growth-stage company dedicated to championing the spirit of play in the high school space. Backed by KKR, our family of brands—including GoFan, NFHS Network, and MaxPreps—empowers schools with innovative solutions and exceptional service. Our fan engagement platform is the only one that offers event ticketing, streaming, fundraising, concessions, merchandise sales, and website management in one place. We save administrators time so they can focus on what truly matters: supporting the students, staff, and fans who bring their programs to life.
Trusted by thousands of schools across the country, we're here to help create more instant replays, hold-your-breath moments, last-minute comebacks, and games you want to watch over and over again.
When being there means everything, we make sure you never miss a moment.
Why you’ll love working at PlayOn
Product, potential, and people. We’re a leader in the high school event space, constantly evolving our product to meet the needs of administrators. We focus on solving real challenges, learning quickly, and creating impactful solutions.
This is a growth-stage company, meaning your contributions have real impact. You’ll have opportunities to grow your skills, tackle meaningful problems, and make a difference in the lives of schools and the students and fans they serve.
Our culture is built on accountability, collaboration, growth, and fairness. We don’t just show up—we show up for each other. Everyone wears the same jersey, and we play hard, make the extra pass, and cheer one another on. Losses teach us, challenges motivate us, and persistence drives us forward. We value integrity over shortcuts, choosing to do what’s right even when it’s hard. Together, we strive to be better every day—because we know that’s how we win as a team.
The Benefits We Offer
Multiple medical insurance plans to choose from
Dental, vision life and disability insurance
Employee Emergency Fund
Company equity (stock options)
Open PTO policy
401K plan with company match
Hybrid/flexible work environment
Note: Must be a full-time employee to participate in the company’s employee health benefit plan. Part-time employees and interns are not eligible to participate.
Top Skills
Postgres
Python
R
SQL
Tableau
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