Senior Manager - Quant Research

At FDJ UNITED, the Quant Research Team is focused on researching, building and documenting quantitative pricing algorithms. We are building statistical models across a variety of sports and products, with a focus on accuracy and scalability.

As a Senior Manager for the Quant Research team, you will lead a team of around 12 people to deliver cutting edge sports pricing models whilst fostering a culture of both product-focused delivery and academic rigour. Your focus will be on people, technical oversight, and ensuring compatibility between research projects and business needs.

What you will be doing:

• Taking overall accountability for multiple research workstreams within the Quant team; for example, managing the delivery of a proof-of-concept monte-carlo simulation for basketball, ensuring close communication between researchers and developers to productionise a new Bayesian football model, or leading a series of feedback sessions with the Trading team to improve deficiencies in existing models.
• Managing a talented group of ~12 people – including research analysts, data engineers, and other managers – to ensure they are supported in their professional development.
• Driving a product-led mindset into everything the Quant Research Team does; for example, setting short- and medium-term goals and tracking progress towards achieving them, communicating blockers and solutions to a wide range of non-technical stakeholders, and planning dependencies on external teams into the Quant team's product roadmap.
• Playing a key role in setting the wider research strategy of the Quant team, providing key insight to business and product owners around the possibilities and limitations of our research models.
• Refining the Quant Research team’s ways of working, including interfacing with quant developers, promoting relevant academic literature, and championing best software practices within the team.
• Learning from and aligning with other managers and leads to accelerate the Quant Research team’s position as a key value differentiator within FDJ UNITED’s in-house sportsbook.

Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience in Quantitative Research, including 2+ years in a leadership or management role focused on people, products, and operational excellence.
• A strong mathematical and statistical background with extensive experience in some of the following modelling techniques: Markov chains, Bayesian models, Kalman filters, GLMs, Copulas.
• Exposure to some of the following technologies or tools: Python, SQL, AWS, Grafana, Docker, Gitlab, Jira, Confluence.
• A track record of building complex statistical models from the ground up.
• A solid understanding of the research project lifecycle within a large tech organisation, where iterative delivery is more important than chasing perfection.
• Experience as an approachable and considerate people manager, able to champion your line report's successes and mentor them through challenges.
• Demonstrable success building relationships with a range of stakeholders and delivering on their needs.
• Specific experience in the development of statistical models with sporting data and delivery of sports pricing feeds.
• Experience with BetBuilder product development within the sports betting industry.
• Experience with line managing managers.
• Experience in leading multiple teams at once.