Director of Data

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 Team

At Second Dinner, data plays a crucial role in conveying the voices of our players and fueling the most fun player experiences. Our team informs decision-making with scientific and methodological rigor. We build data and machine learning-powered player experiences directly into the game. We innovate in data and analytics tooling to redefine what is possible in game development and operations.

Your Role

You will report to the VP of AI, Data and Security, and your primary responsibility is to lead the data science and engineering team to enable the Marvel SNAP and our incubation games. You will guide the team to build and operate a reliable and scalable data backbone. You will help level up the SNAP team’s capability in rigorous decision-making with data and experimentation. You will lead the team to develop data and machine learning services to improve the player experience. You will partner with the AI team to adopt relevant technology to enhance and expand the game for SNAP players. You will collaborate with Analytics, Product, Design, Marketing, and many other disciplines to help make our games wildly fun and drive growth worldwide. If you are a hands-on technical leader who loves building exceptional data teams, crafting world-class game experiences, collaborating with extraordinarily talented cross-functional teams, and creating data science and engineering solutions to impact millions of players directly, then APPLY!!!

What You’ll Do:

• Empower and grow top talent in data science and data engineering. Foster a high-performing, collaborative, and customer-focused team culture

• Lead the design, development, and operation of scalable, reliable, and efficient data infrastructure to support Marvel SNAP and our future games

• Lead the team to architect and build the machine learning serving and operations framework to enable data scientists to model, iterate and deploy fast

• Enable and empower teams to build data products, tools, and features that deliver game outcomes

• Collaborate with Analytics, Product, Design, and Marketing teams to identify business opportunities and shape the Data team’s priorities to align with them

• Build organizational capabilities to enable data-driven decision-making at all levels, fostering a strong data culture across the company

• Define and raise the bar for technical excellence in the data discipline. Advocate for best practices in data science, data engineering, and experimentation across the company.

• Contribute to and execute Second Dinner’s overarching data strategy

What You’ll Need:

• Proven experience leading and growing cross-functional data science and engineering teams in fast-paced environments

• Expertise in data engineering and infrastructure, including experience with AWS (Lambda, S3, Kinesis), Databricks, Apache Airflow, and Kafka

• Strong background in data science and applied machine learning, with familiarity with frameworks and tools including Spark, PyTorch/TensorFlow, SageMaker, and MLFlow

• Proficient in Python, with outstanding programming skills and experience following common software development workflows

• Exceptional ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate complex problems into data opportunities

• Excellent communication skills, with ability to articulate technical concepts clearly and concisely to various audiences

• Deep understanding of and enthusiasm for games, with a mindset for serving a diverse, global player base

Nice to Have, But Not Necessary:

• An advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related technical field

• Experience with game engineering, preferably using Unity and .NET/C#, or Godot

• Experience with large-scale distributed software systems

• Experience with state-of-the-art recommendation systems

• A passion for mobile games

The total compensation for this position includes a new hire offer base salary range of $200,000 to $270,000 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

• Up to 10 BetterHelp sessions covered each benefits plan year

• 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, 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.

Compensation Range: $200K - $270K