Mathematics Expert
About Hoop Dreams Basketball Hoop Dreams Basketball is a skill development training business founded in 2002, helping boys and girls from elementary school through professional levels improve their game. We run training sessions every day except Friday, all based out of the Portland Athletic Club (5803 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy., Portland, OR 97221). We also support athletes through evaluation, consulting, scouting, and college placement.
Role Overview Basketball improvement is not only about reps it is also about knowing what is changing and whether it is real. Small differences in shooting mechanics, decision patterns, workload, and consistency show up as measurements: angles, distances, percentages, trends over time, and comparisons to meaningful baselines.When those measurements are defined well and interpreted honestly, coaches and athletes can prioritize the right work, see progress sooner, and avoid chasing noise. When they are defined poorly or summarized in misleading ways people train hard without a clear picture of what is actually improving.
We are hiring a Mathematics Expert to help Hoop Dreams use rigorous measurement and statistics as a support system for athlete development. In practice, that means helping us translate training and evaluation into numbers that map to the game, audit whether our metrics mean what we think they mean, and communicate results so players and families can understand them without drowning in jargon.Examples of the kind of thinking we want include: how to track progress and variability fairly across athletes, how to represent shooting efficiency or consistency without overconfidence from small samples, how to compare performance across sessions or time periods in a way that accounts for context, and how to design simple quality checks so dashboards and reports do not quietly drift into misleading conclusions.
You will work closely with our CEO and collaborate with whoever owns our data and reporting workflows (internal technical staff or tools). The goal is not math for maths sake, but clearer feedback loops so basketball players from youth through advanced levels can improve faster because the organization measures development the way a serious program should: transparently, consistently, and grounded in sound reasoning.
Location Hybrid / On-site (Portland, OR) Portland Athletic Club, 5803 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy., Portland, OR 97221. Remote-friendly for the right candidate if overlap with Pacific Time meetings is workable.
Start Date Target: on or before July 1, 2026 (earlier if available).
Compensation $70,000 to $90,000 per year for full-time based on experience, scope, and fit.
Responsibilities (What Youll Do)
Design and document metrics that reflect skill development and evaluation (e.g. progress over time, consistency, comparability across groups) and flag where metrics should not be used.
Review and improve statistical methods used in reporting: sampling, aggregation, trends, confidence, and simple forecasting where appropriate.Partner on dashboards and reports: define what should be shown, how to read it, and how to avoid misleading charts or false precision.
Audit data quality issues that affect math (missing data, duplicates, inconsistent definitions) and recommend definitions ( single source of truth for terms).Translate analysis into plain-language summaries for coaches and leadership; optional short training on how to interpret key numbers.
Support college-placement relevant math readiness (e.g. placement test prep, algebra/precalculus foundations) for athletes we serve if that is part of your agreed scope.
Stay aligned with privacy and ethics around youth data; escalate concerns when analyses could be sensitive or misinterpreted.
Must-Have Qualifications
Strong background in mathematics and/or statistics (e.g. M.S. or Ph.D. preferred, or B.S. plus clear applied experience).Demonstrated ability to work with real-world, messy data and still produce defensible conclusions.
Solid statistics toolkit: descriptive stats, uncertainty, comparisons over time, basic inference applied pragmatically, not theory for theorys sake.Excellent communication: you can explain what the number means, what it doesnt mean, and what decision it supports.
High integrity with numbers comfortable saying we cant conclude that from this data.Ability to work independently with clear deadlines and async updates.
Work Authorization Must eligible to work for United States
Nice-to-Have Qualifications
Experience in sports, youth athletics, or education.Familiarity with basketball concepts (even as a learner) so metrics map to how we actually train.
Experience with SQL, spreadsheets, or BI tools (you dont need to be a software engineer, but you should partner well with one).
Teaching or tutoring experience (math), especially for high school or early college levels.
Exposure to experiment design or A/B-style thinking for training interventions.
Tools & Environment (Examples)
Exact tools depend on hire and stack, but you should be comfortable with: spreadsheets, SQL or BI tools as we use them, and written documentation (metric definitions, methodology notes).Reporting & Team Reports to: VP of Engineering and CEO Team: Small organization; you may work alongside operations and technical/data roles as we grow.
How to Apply Send your resume or CV (or LinkedIn).