Job Posting: Indians Data Architect
Cleveland Indians Data Architect – Baseball Systems
Description
The primary purpose of the job is to design, implement, and manage the Baseball Department’s information architecture. The Data Architect will partner with the Baseball Analytics and Software Development groups to maintain data infrastructure, support needs, implement solutions, and drive innovation in baseball’s data-driven decision process. Key functions will include data modeling, integration, warehousing, and consumption.
RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:
Data Modeling
• Understand and document existing database structures, historical design decisions, business rules, and future requirements
• Develop and document a comprehensive information model that describes the data and maps the workflow that transform and manipulates it into usable information.
• Ensure “single version of the truth” consistency across applications and reports
Data Integration
• Create and manage ETL (extract, transform, load) data integration processes
• Understand the format, definitions, limitations, and content of external and internal data feeds
• Reconcile differences across data sources and consolidate into a single master repository
• Develop processes ensuring data standards, security, stewardship, lineage, and metadata management.
• Spearhead efforts to identify, obtain and integrate new data sources useful for decision-making.
Data Warehousing
• Design and manage a data warehouse to support reporting and analytics
• Administer the business database servers, tuning the server for performance, managing storage, etc.
• Oversee the design, evaluation, selection, implementation and support of database systems and related technologies
• Review and assess technical proposals requesting changes or upgrades to the existing databases.
Data Consumption
• Support data and reporting requirements for a variety of applications, analysts, and end-users in all departments.
• Provide technical and strategic advice of the management in the creation and implementation of new data standards, databases, products, and vendors.
Requirements
Education and Work Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or related field.
• Information technology experience.
• Business intelligence, data warehousing, OLAP, and/or data integration experience.
• Proven data modeling experience.
• Experience designing, implementing, and managing large and complex data warehouses and cubes in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.
• Thorough knowledge of design and integration principles for complex, heterogeneous databases
• Experience with ETL and BI reporting tools (e.g. Microsoft SSIS & SSRS).
• Advanced knowledge in query development, including SQL, MDX, and stored procedures.
• Experience using XML and/or JSON formatted data.
Relevant Skills
• Knowledgeable about software development best practices and long-term maintainability of code
• Ability to effectively diagnose, isolate, and resolve complex problems pertaining to data infrastructure, integrity, and incompatibilities
• Familiarity with baseball and sabermetrics strongly desirable
• Experience as a database administrator (DBA) desirable
• Experience supporting or using statistical and/or data mining applications is desirable.
• Experience in a .NET programming language desirable.
• Familiarity with any of application development and/or web technologies is desirable.
Functional Skills
• Ability to work long hours, evenings, and weekends required
• Effective communication with both co-workers and guests.
• Reads, speaks and comprehends English effectively.
• Basic understanding of organizational structure, goals, and mission.
• Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office
• Ability to act according to the organizational values at all times
• Represents the Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.
• Ability to lift and carry items up to 15 lbs.
• Ability to sit for an entire shift.
• Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the ballpark.
• Ability to work in a diverse environment.
David Appelman is the creator of FanGraphs.
“Knowledgeable about software development best practices and long-term maintainability of code”
+
“Reads, speaks and comprehends English effectively”
+
“Ability to lift and carry items up to 15 lbs”
??? What is this, the WAR triple crown? Good luck!
I’m available!
The job sounds like it would be fun, but then the functional skills section ruins it.
Functional Skills
1 Ability to work long hours, evenings, and weekends required
2 Basic understanding of organizational structure, goals, and mission.
3 Ability to develop and maintain successful working relationship with members of the Front Office
My interpretation of these functional skills:
1 You are desperate to work in baseball, so you will make this job the sole purpose in your life.
2 You will recognize that you are at the bottom of the organizational structure.
3. Accept that you are a slave to the Front Office, treat them accordingly and you will do fine.
Perhaps that is too harsh, but the last requirement to work in a diverse environment after conspicuously eliminating many people with physical disabilities adds to my suspicions.
Pretty much, particularly #1.
Too bad most of these jobs revolve around Microsoft technology.
If I can do everything in the list above except:
“Represents the Indians in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.”
while I am “sit[ting in a chair looking at a computer screen] for an entire shift.”
Would they still hire me? Seems like a strange request for what is typically a non-client facing position, as well as a position that is supposed to deal objectively with data and results. They might get more traction if they wrote:
“Represents the Indian’s data and analytics capabilities in a positive fashion to all business partners and the general public.”
I write a lot of job postings and do a lot of hiring stuff. This is pretty standard language. It doesn’t mean you have to actually interact with the general public.
It means if you do so in a way that reflects negatively on the Indians, you’re fired.
Somewhat specific example – most of my former employers had policies that if you were arrested for driving under the influence, you were terminated on the spot. They didn’t want to risk being publicly associated with that kind of idiot behavior.
…I feel like I should make it clear that them being my “former” employers and having that policy are unrelated. I do consulting stuff on temporary contracts.
Although I agree with you regarding idiot behavior, I have never heard of the particular “terminated on the spot” policy you cite above applying to MLB players or coaches, who strangely enough are the most public employees of the team.
In terms of “standard language” as a justification for continuing doing something a certain way, watch the movie “42” for a different POV on that line of reasoning.
When was the last time some of you have looked at a job posting?
Half the things being griped about are boilerplate. The ability to life 15 pounds? I bet they would still give Stephen Hawking a fair shot if he interviewed.
Maybe he’s an exception.
Knowledgeable about software development best practices and long-term maintainability of code.
Ability to lift and carry items up to 15 lbs.
Ability to move throughout all areas and levels of the ballpark.
Data Architect / Post game cleanup crew
These job descriptions are great. You can tell from the technology used that the organization is about 5 years off the cutting edge of data science. That or whoever is doing the hiring is just throwing keywords against a wall.
Any orgs using PIG or Hive?
I wonder if the Twins even know what 10% of these words mean?