Senior Data Scientist - Data Journalism

Why Play Station?

Play Station isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing the Play Station family of products and services including Play Station®5, Play Station®4, Play Station®VR, Play Station®Plus, acclaimed Play Station software titles from Play Station Studios, and more.

Play Station also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The Play Station brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

San Mateo, CA (hybrid)*

This position will also require onsite work at least one day/week at our San Mateo location.

As a Senior Data Scientist focused on Data Journalism in the Product Data Science team, you will be working at the forefront of data science to uncover and share important data stories by exploring user behavior across the Play Station ecosystem and discovering and communicating new information about our users and our ecosystem that will advance our company’s ability to use data.

You will work with team members and internal customers to harness your knowledge of data communication and data analysis techniques in order to unravel complex phenomenon and inform decision making throughout the company that will help create a personalized, joyous experience for Play Station users around the world.

• Identify and bring to life data stories that are present but unexplored in the team’s output in a way that is both accurate and approachable.
• Use impactful visuals and concise narratives to create compelling stories for technical and non-technical audiences in product management, partner services, commerce, strategy, data, and engineering departments.
• Explore Play Station data to ensure that you are using the best source of data for your analyses and maintaining awareness of any issues of interpretation that may arise.
• Perform ad-hoc analyses on petabytes of complex data.
• Learn new tools as appropriate and determine how best to convey your stories in the tools and formats that are available to you.
• Develop a thorough understanding of the business, our products, partners, and users, how information flows through the company, and how the PDS team contributes to and supplements that flow.
• Provide critical information to diverse audiences to inform decision making, increase understanding of our ecosystem, and inspire action and innovation.

• Strong understanding of data manipulation techniques, including intermediate or advanced understanding of SQL and Python or other similar languages.
• Excellent data storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex data into clear, engaging, insightful narratives.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Proficiency with data visualization tools.
• Experience working with large, complex datasets.
• Keen sense of what data stories should be told and how to tell them.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the desire and ability to work collaboratively with people from different areas of expertise and build and maintain relationships with a variety of partners and internal customers.
• Strong business sense and interest in what we do and how we do it.
• Ability to adapt your thinking when faced with new evidence.

• Knowledge of the gaming industry or related domain areas (e.g., media or entertainment).
• Familiarity with Streamlit or similar frameworks.
• Experience working closely with data scientists and/or data engineers.
• Experience working in a global environment.
• Ability to influence without authority.

* Play Station offers a global hybrid office/remote working model — Flex Modes — which aims to combine the flexibility of remote working with the magic of in-person collaboration. The model is built upon the principle of working together in-person as work requires, with the freedom to work remotely…