What are the responsibilities and job description for the Applied Biomechanist - Major League position at Pittsburgh Pirates?
The Pirates Why
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a storied franchise in Major League Baseball who are reinventing themselves on every level. Boldly and relentlessly pursuing excellence by:
- purposefully developing a player and people-centered culture;
- deeply connecting with our fans, partners, and colleagues;
- passionately creating lifetime memories for generations of families and friends; and
- meaningfully impacting our communities and the game of baseball.
At the Pirates, we believe in the power of a diverse workforce and strive to create an inclusive culture centered in Passion, Innovation, Respect, Accountability, Teamwork, Empathy, and Service.
Job Summary
The Pittsburgh Pirates are seeking an Applied Biomechanist to work directly with our Major League team and advance how biomechanics informs player development and performance. This person will own and operate biomechanics data collection, partner with coaches and performance staff to turn data into actionable insights, and work with R&D to identify new ways biomechanics can help answer important baseball questions.
The ideal candidate combines a strong foundation in human movement and biomechanics with the ability to operate effectively in an applied baseball environment. They should be comfortable moving between technical biomechanics concepts and practical conversations with coaches and players, understanding that the value of the data comes from helping people make better decisions, not simply producing more information.
Responsibilities
- Operate, calibrate, troubleshoot, and maintain motion capture and biomechanics technologies.
- Manage biomechanics data collection and ensure consistent, high-quality outputs.
- Partner with Major League coaches, players, performance, and medical staff to identify and answer applied biomechanics questions, incorporating other performance data where applicable.
- Translate complex biomechanics information into clear, actionable insights.
- Proactively identify opportunities to generate new insights and expand how biomechanics is used to improve player performance.
- Collaborate with research-oriented biomechanists and others in R&D to identify high-value research questions and improve models, metrics, reports, and tools.
Qualifications
Required:
- Authorized to work lawfully in the United States.
- Advanced degree in biomechanics, kinesiology, engineering, exercise science, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- Demonstrated experience applying biomechanics analyses to help improve baseball performance.
- Experience collecting and analyzing motion capture or other biomechanical data.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze and visualize data with SQL, Python, R, or similar tools.
- Demonstrated ability to explain technical concepts to coaches, players, or non-technical stakeholders.
Preferred:
We don't expect any candidate to have done all of these things. We're interested in people who can demonstrate several of these experiences or capabilities and who have the curiosity and ability to grow into the others:
- Work experience in professional or collegiate sports, with a preference for baseball and softball.
- Demonstrated experience conducting statistical or data science research; biomechanics applications are a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to generate novel research ideas.
- Experience coaching or working directly with athletes; baseball or softball experience is a plus.
- Experience building a motion-capture lab from the ground up.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.