Senior Data Scientist - Game Design

Who We Are

Second Dinner is an award-winning independent game development studio that is here to make the most fun games in the world. Not super fun games. Not SUPER DUPER fun games. We mean the MOST fun games. In fact, our game MARVEL SNAP has earned multiple Mobile Game of the Year Awards (Game Awards, DICE), Best Strategy Game (IGN), and the Apple Design Award for Innovation!

Second Dinner is a remote-first studio, so while we are headquartered in Irvine, California, most of our team is fully remote across the United States. We want the most talented teammates wherever they call home. A diverse team with varied perspectives makes us a better company and will help us make better games. If you can bring something new to the table and expand our point of view, that's a huge upside.

Our Data & Analytics Team

At Second Dinner, data plays a crucial role in conveying the voices of our players and informing our decisions, which leads us to great games and player experiences. Our team informs decision-making with scientific and methodological rigor. We build data and ML-powered player experiences directly into the game. We innovate in analytics tooling and data science capabilities to redefine what is possible in game development and operations.

Your Role

You will report to the VP of Data and AI, and your primary responsibility is to empower game design in Marvel SNAP with data science. You will help level up SNAP team’s capability in rigorous decision-making with data and experiments. You will work side by side with game designers to improve player experience in matchmaking, various game modes, and personalized gameplay. You will partner with SNAP engineers and the AI team to enhance and expand the game for SNAP players. You will collaborate with many other disciplines to help make our game wildly fun. If you love crafting world-class game experiences, directly impacting game design, collaborating with extraordinarily talented cross-functional teams, and delivering the most fun experience to millions of players globally, then APPLY!!!

What You’ll Do:

• Partner with Design to identify opportunities to improve player experience and translate them into data science initiatives.
• Educate and support the SNAP team on decision science and relevant best practices.
• Partner with Design, Product Management, and Analytics to identify, define, compute, and validate metrics to measure the success of gameplay features.
• Apply analytics, experimentation, and machine learning to enable personalization.
• Help level up our approach to experimentation and hypothesis-driven development.
• Partner with central technology teams to guide data collection and adopt new solutions that are valuable to SNAP.
• Drive initiatives to constantly improve the matchmaking experience.

What You’ll Need:

• Advanced degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Engineering, or related quantitative field.
• Extensive experience in data science, predictive modeling, and applied ML.
• Expertise in Python, SQL, and Apache Spark.
• Expertise in at least one OOP language (C#, C++, Python, or Java).
• Experience developing PvP skill rating and matchmaking systems.
• Experience developing personalized recommendation systems.
• Strong ability to convey technical and statistical concepts clearly and concisely among audiences with different backgrounds.
• Strong ability to partner with stakeholders to lead product improvement and innovations.
• Demonstrated success in a highly collaborative cross-functional work environment.
• Passionate player of mobile games.
• Mindset for serving a diverse and global player base.

Nice to Have, But Not Necessary:

• Ph.D. in Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, or related field.
• Experience with AWS, Databricks, Tableau, or Looker.
• Fundamental understanding of game design.
• Experience collaborating with data engineers and ML engineers on ML/AI systems.
• Experience working in online video games, preferably free-to-play mobile games.
• Passion for making video games.

The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $170,000 - $220,000 USD + equity + comprehensive benefits + potential for discretionary performance bonuses.

Individual pay within this salary range may span multiple levels within the discipline and is determined by assessed job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training. It also factors in market demands and business needs. The disclosed range is not adjusted based on location and may be subject to change or modification based on business needs in the future. Your recruiter can answer any questions about new hire total compensation during the hiring process.

An overview of the benefits and perks at Second Dinner:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans with Second Dinner paying 100% of premiums for employees and 75% for dependents for many plans
• 401(k) contribution with no waiting period
• 16 weeks paid parental leave with no waiting period
• Home office improvement bonus
• Paid Vacation & Sick time
• Remote-first with core overlap hours between 10AM and 4PM PT
• Company Winter Holiday shutdown (Dec 25-Jan 1)
• Company Summer Holiday shutdown (week of July 4)
• Company Events - In-person Summer all-hands gathering, in-person holiday party, annual camping event, and virtual events throughout the year

We are an equal opportunity employer that places high value on diversity and inclusion. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, disability status, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military status, or veteran status.

You must be eligible to work in the United States to be considered for this position.