Job Posting: Cardinals Engineer, Data Scientist, and Developer Positions
Please note, this posting contains multiple positions.
Position: Data Quality Engineer
Location: St. Louis
Summary of the background and skill set best suited to excel in this role:
The role of Data Quality Engineer will be to ensure data management (ETL) processes for the Cardinals’ testing and quality standards are met across existing and new data sources being ingested by the organization. This person will work closely with other members of the Baseball Development department to understand their data needs and incorporate them into the data management (ETL) processes. This role requires a detail-oriented mindset, analytical ability, an ability to work independently, and an interest in the game of baseball.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related technical field from an accredited college or university or equivalent work experience
- Candidates in school expecting to graduate Winter 2019 or Spring 2020 with work towards such degrees will also be considered
- Experience with end-to-end data testing and/or data analysis as well as knowledge of best practices and methodologies for data QA
- Demonstrated proficiency with SQL for creating/modifying queries
- Experience with JSON, CSV, XML and other data exchange formats
- Excellent organizational, interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
- Ability to work well in a fast-paced environment under deadlines in a changing environment
- Proven problem-solving skills and analytical ability
Preferred Qualifications:
- 1+ years of experience with software and/or data quality assurance
- Experience with Cloud data pipeline tooling and principles
To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application that can be found here.
Position: Data Engineer
Location: St. Louis
Summary of the background and skill set best suited to excel in this role:
The role of Data Engineer will be focused on supporting the data pipeline infrastructure that supplies the Baseball Development department with the data needed to make actionable insights in day-to-day operations. The person in this role will be responsible for maintaining the current data infrastructure and develop new innovative methods to deliver data to drive actionable business outcomes. This person should be detail oriented, analytically inclined, and have an interest in the game of baseball.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
- Candidates in school expecting to graduate Winter 2019 or Spring 2020 with work towards such degrees will also be considered
- Experience with data processing software (such as Hadoop, Spark, Pig, Hive, Beam) and/or algorithms (MapReduce, Flume)
- Experience in writing software in one or more languages such as Python, Go, Java, C++ and/or JavaScript
- Demonstrated proficiency with SQL for creating/modifying queries
- Experience with JSON, CSV, XML and other data exchange formats
- Experience working with API endpoints (REST, oAuth2, CRUD, SOAP)
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working with data warehouses, including architecture and design of infrastructure components, ETL/ELT processes, reporting/analytic tools and environments
- Experience working with big data, information retrieval, data mining or machine learning
- Experience with Cloud data pipeline tooling and principles
To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application that can be found here.
Position: Analytics Engineer
Location: St. Louis
Summary of the background and skill set best suited to excel in this role:
The role of Analytics Engineer will be focused on supporting the analytics pipeline that supplies the Baseball Development department with the data tools and processes needed to make actionable insights in day-to-day operations. The person in this role will be responsible for facilitating the analytics team members with the necessary components in their data modeling processes. This person should be detail orientated, analytically inclined, and have an interest in the game of baseball.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
- Candidates in school expecting to graduate Winter 2019 or Spring 2020 with work towards such degrees will also be considered
- Experience working with big data, information retrieval, data mining or machine learning
- Experience working in Python and/or R
- Experience working in SQL and/or NoSQL
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with data processing software (such as Hadoop, Spark, Pig, Hive, Beam) and/or algorithms (MapReduce, Flume)
- Experience in one or more modern machine learning languages, such as TensorFlow, Caffe/Caffe2, PyTorch, Keras, MXNet, Scikit-Learn
- Experience with Cloud data pipeline tooling and principles
To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application that can be found here.
Position: Senior Data Scientist
Location: St. Louis
Summary of the background and skill set best suited to excel in this role:
The role of Senior Data Scientist is to conduct quantitative research aimed at developing/enhancing predictive, machine learning, and other quantitative models to help the Cardinals organization gain insights as well as make actionable decisions related to all aspects of baseball operations.
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS, MS, or PhD in an appropriate technology field (Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Math, Operations Research, etc.)
- 3-5+ years of experience with data science
- Expertise in R or Python
- Expertise in SQL
- Solid communication skills with demonstrated ability to explain complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Passion for baseball and strong intellectual curiosity
Preferred Qualifications:
- Proficient in a modern machine learning framework such as TensorFlow, Caffe/Caffe2, PyTorch, Keras, MXNet, Scikit-Learn
- Published research demonstrating clearly defined methodologies and use of technical abilities
To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application that can be found here.
Position: Application Developer
Location: St. Louis
Summary of the background and skill set best suited to excel in this role:
The role of Application Developer is to design, implement and maintain analytics and technical systems (Frontend & Backend) in collaboration with the Baseball Development department. These applications will be used by Baseball Operations personnel and field staff. This person should be detail oriented, intellectually curious, and have an interest in the game of baseball.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience
- 1-3+ years of experience as a software engineer, developer, or equivalent technical experience
- Proficiency working with one or more of the following: JavaScript (including MVC frameworks such as AngularJS, Angular, React, or Vue.js), Java, Python, Go, CSS or HTML
- Proficiency developing, securing and consuming REST / JSON APIs using modern server-side or client frameworks (such as Node.js, GraphQL, Angular, etc.)
- Experience with SQL
Preferred Qualifications:
- iOS and/or Android Mobile App development
- Familiarity with NoSQL
- Experience with cloud developer tooling
To Apply:
To apply, please complete the application that can be found here.
The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Postseason Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals
by Jake Mailhot
October 2, 2019
In one of the most thrilling finishes to a Wild Card game, the Washington Nationals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. That victory finally exorcised the nightmare that elimination games have been for the Nats over the last decade. Now their sights are set on the best team in the National League, the Dodgers.
At a Glance:
- Game 1: Thursday, October 3, 8:37 PM EST in Los Angeles
- Game 2: Friday, October 4, 9:37 PM EST in Los Angeles
- Game 3: Sunday, October 6, time TBD in Washington
- Game 4 (if necessary): Monday, October 7, time TBD in Washington
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 9, time TBD in Los Angeles
Dodgers-Nationals Team Overview
| Overview | Dodgers | Nationals | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batting (wRC+) | 111 (1st in NL) | 103 (3rd in NL) | Dodgers |
| Fielding (DRS) | 136 (1st) | -2 (12th) | Dodgers |
| Starting Pitching (FIP-) | 81 (1st) | 82 (2nd) | Dodgers |
| Bullpen (FIP-) | 93 (3rd) | 109 (14th) | Dodgers |
This five-game series sets up a clash between the top two starting rotations in the senior circuit. The Dodgers starters posted a park- and league-adjusted FIP 19% better than league average, and the Nationals were just a point right behind them. But in a short series, the quality of the top of the rotation is paramount, and these two teams are very top-heavy. Read the rest of this entry »
Every Playoff Home Run Tells a Story, Especially the First One
Getting dropped into a single elimination Wild Card game is like kicking off the postseason with Game Seven of the World Series. Suddenly, everything is on the line. The water is boiling. Alarms are going off. Stephen Strasburg is pitching in relief. There’s always two strikes. The crowd is either deathly silent or ripping off their jerseys.
Often, these games are won with abrupt offense, and in 2019, that means home runs. The league just hit a(nother) record-breaking number of them during the regular season, so last night, the Brewers and Nationals knew it was their jobs to swat as many balls out of the ballpark as they could before time ran out.
Yasmani Grandal hit one on the first pitch he saw, gifting Milwaukee an early lead by punching an inside fastball into the Nationals’ bullpen and celebrating with a seismic slap of his first base coach’s hand.
Eric Thames clubbed the next one on Max Scherzer’s 20th pitch of the evening, a low and away shapeshifter on the corner, and they both turned and watched it sail two or three rows back in right center to make it 3-0. Thames jogged muscularly around the bases, his arm adorned with robot armor from the future.
Trea Turner hit the last one, which gave a spike to the Washington pulse; a 98 mph heater high in the zone, just where he likes ‘em — a spot where, during the regular season, he hit .625. Turner’s bomb (in theory) set off the emergency alert system at Nationals Park, as if to assure people: Don’t worry, we’re still here. Read the rest of this entry »
Kiley McDaniel Chat – 10/2/19
October 2, 2019
| 12:38 |
: Hello from ATL! Scout is asleep sunbathing on the back porch, so I’m left to field your questions. |
| 12:39 |
: First day time chat this week and it’s you, blah! |
| 12:39 |
: thanks for coming by, mom |
| 12:39 |
: Is it fairly clear that Hancock, Martin, and Tork are going in the top 3 and then what happens next is not clear? If you were in the 4-10 range and needed a bat, who would you prefer? Hassel? PCA? |
| 12:41 |
: Good chance her to plug THE BOARD, which is our personal opinions of who to take amongst minor leaguers, draft and July 2 folks. It’s always being updated and the 2020 draft stuff has one more set of tweaks left before we announce “hey guys, come look at this, it’s new” but there’s over 500 guys on there, so you could say we’re pretty well informed |
Postseason Preview: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves
October 2, 2019
After winning their respective divisions, the Atlanta Braves will face off against the St. Louis Cardinals starting on Thursday. This series looks evenly matched, with our Depth Charts projections (53%) and ZiPS (55%) both seeing the Braves as slight favorites. Before we get to the meat of the preview, let’s lay out the schedule. All games will be televised by TBS.
When and Where:
- Game 1: Thursday, October 3, 5:02 PM EST in Atlanta
- Game 2: Friday, October 4, 4:37 PM EST in Atlanta
- Game 3: Sunday, October 6, time TBD in St. Louis
- Game 4 (if necessary): Monday, October 7, time TBD in St. Louis
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 9, time TBD in Atlanta
What We’ll Be Watching For:
Injured Players
Ender Inciarte will remain out for this series, at least, after a hamstring injury struck him down in mid-August. Matt Joyce and Adam Duvall have platooned some with Inciarte out, though the Cardinals have no lefty starters, so the 35-year-old Joyce could play a big role in the series. He hasn’t shown a ton of power the last few years, but he’s walked 15% of the time against righties since the beginning of 2016 with a decently low 21% strikeout rate. Inciarte’s replacement in center actually meant an upgrade as Ronald Acuña Jr. took over, but the Braves’ star outfielder has injury concerns of his own; an apparent hip injury was classified as a groin strain and it is unclear how that injury might affect his superb baserunning or his defense in center field.
The health worries don’t end there for the Braves. Freddie Freeman has a bone spur in his right elbow, which he is still favoring, and though he played over the weekend, he struck out four times in 11 plate appearances and didn’t come up with an extra base hit. It was only the third three-game stretch all season during which Freeman struck out that often and didn’t get an extra base hit. All three stretches have come in the last six weeks. Every player is going to have sporadic, three-game down stretches, but given what we know about Freeman’s elbow, look for a lot of inside pitches to test whether the injury will continue to hobble the Braves’ first basemen. Josh Donaldson sat out the last game of the season after being hit on the hip with a pitch, but that injury appears less severe. Donaldson, Acuña, and Freeman have accounted for half of the 27.9 WAR accumulated by Braves’ position players this season (Ozzie Albies is the only other position player with more than 2.1 WAR); Atlanta would be a completely different team without that trio at full strength. Read the rest of this entry »
A Better Hendriks Suits Up In Oakland
A year ago tomorrow — Wednesday, October 3, 2018 — Liam Hendriks started the American League Wild Card game for the Oakland A’s. Twenty-five pitches and one Aaron Judge home run later, Hendriks hit the showers with his team down 2-0. Three hours after that, the rest of his teammates joined him there. Tonight, the A’s will play in a one-game playoff for the third time in six seasons, and though Hendriks won’t be starting, he’s a big reason his team has a chance to prove an old saying true tonight.
“He’s really been one of our MVPs,” said Scott Emerson, the A’s pitching coach. “Last year, it was Blake [Treinen], and this year it’s been Liam. Last year when he got sent out [to Triple-A in early April], he really transformed his body and got into the long-toss program. That transformation came with a change in mindset and in approach. It didn’t hurt that the velo spiked, and the breaking ball got a whole lot better, too.”
The results have been spectacular. Hendriks was an All-Star in July for the first time in a nine-year career, bringing a 1.22 ERA and 2.06 FIP into that game, and his numbers since the break were, if anything, even better: a 1.60 FIP and a 45.7% strikeout rate. More to the point, he’s found success in the second half without also carrying the 89% strand rate and 0.17 HR/9 mark that led doubters to write off his first half as a run of good luck for an otherwise average pitcher. After the break, Hendriks stranded just 78% of baserunners and allowed 1.08 HR/9 — both much more in line with his career numbers of 70% and 1.04, respectively. Read the rest of this entry »
Twenty-Seven Outs to Go: The Nationals Win a Thriller
Outs are a scarce resource. Of all the insights the sabermetric movement has bequeathed, that one looms largest in a game like this, when an entire season hangs in the balance on every pitch. From the second that Yasmani Grandal’s line drive sailed over the right field wall for a two-run homer in the first, the Nationals were on notice:
You are losing. You only have 27 outs to fix it.
A month ago, Brandon Woodruff seemed an unlikely October hero. Not only were the Brewers fading, but Woodruff’s continued absence helped explain why. The righty went down with a strained oblique in late July, and didn’t return until the season’s final weeks. Even when he climbed back on the bump in September, the Brewers were cautious, limiting him to four innings across two late-season starts.
On the big stage, he could not have looked more in form. His heater, one of the fastest in the game on a normal night, reached triple digits and sat just a tick lower. He was amped from the first pitch, and where Max Scherzer tossed a shaky first inning, Woodruff looked settled. In mere minutes, he induced a groundout, a whiff, and a pop up.
Twenty-four outs to go. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s Who Is Going to Win the World Series (Maybe)
Forcing baseball writers to make predictions isn’t particularly nice. People tend to remember the bad picks more than the good ones, and a lot of flukiness can reveal itself in a short stretch of games. Still, I’m a scamp, so I asked my colleagues for their postseason winners. Thirty-two writers from across our family of blogs answered the call. Many of them proved to be Astros and Dodgers believers but some went in less well-worn directions. Below are the results by league and round, as well as each writer’s complete forecast. Happy playoffs!
National League
Wild Card and Divisional Series
National League Wild Card
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Nationals | 21 |
| Brewers | 11 |
Braves vs. Cardinals Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Braves | 23 |
| Cardinals | 9 |
Dodgers vs. Wild Card Winner Division Series
| Winner | Votes |
|---|---|
| Dodgers | 21 |
| Nationals | 10 |
| Brewers | 1 |