Director Of Computer Vision

A bit about us

Genius Sports is a global leader in sports technology, driving innovation and growth across the sports, gaming, and media sectors. We empower sports leagues to take control of their official data, transforming it into immersive fan experiences. With a presence on five continents and a team of around 1,800 professionals, we're at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry. 

In 2021, we acquired Second Spectrum, a Sports Emmy-winning data and tech company that revolutionizes how sports are seen and experienced. Together, we're pushing the limits of deep tech, using machine learning, computer vision, big data, augmented reality, and virtual reality to create groundbreaking solutions. Our team's passion for cutting-edge design, combined with our experience in college and professional sports, fuels the innovation that makes our products unique. 

If you're excited about working on the most advanced technology in sports, Genius Sports and Second Spectrum offer an environment where ambition and creativity thrive. It's a place where driven individuals can grow, collaborate, and make a real impact. 

The Role: Director of Computer Vision 

We are looking for a visionary leader to join us as the Director of Computer Vision, heading our dynamic team in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Computer Vision team plays a crucial role in developing real-time player tracking, advanced sports analytics, and next-level broadcast enhancements. This is an exciting opportunity to lead groundbreaking work that pushes the boundaries of how sports are experienced globally. 

Your mission will be to scale our real-time solutions from tens of sports arenas to thousands, reshaping the sports landscape. Imagine transforming the viewing experience in stadiums and homes alike, from football arenas across Europe to basketball courts in the U.S., enabling real-time insights that captivate fans and power the future of sports. If you're ready to lead a team at the cutting edge of sports technology, this role is your chance to make a global impact. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and execute a strategic vision for the computer vision team, aligning with the company's overall objectives. 

• Project Management: Oversee the planning, development, and implementation of computer vision projects, ensuring they are completed on time, within scope, and budget. 

• Team Development: Recruit, mentor, and manage a team of computer vision engineers and managers, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. Attending management and strategic meetings, setting goals for the team and its members, holding 1:1s and bi-annual reviews. 

• Research and Development: Drive research initiatives in computer vision, keeping the company at the forefront of technological advancements.  

• Technical Expertise: Provide technical leadership in the design, development, and deployment of computer vision algorithms and systems. 

• Product Integration: Work closely with product management, operation, and engineering teams to integrate computer vision capabilities into existing and new products. 

• Performance Optimization: Optimize and evaluate the performance of computer vision models and systems to ensure they meet the required standards of accuracy, efficiency, and scalability. 

• Stakeholder Communication: Communicate complex technical concepts and project statuses to non-technical stakeholders, including senior management and clients. 

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Citizenship/Residency: Must be a Swiss/EU/EFTA citizen or have a residency permit in Switzerland.
• Education: Advanced degree in Computer Science or Engineering from a leading technical university.
• Experience: 
  • Computer Vision: Over 7 years of experience post-graduation in building real-time computer vision products.
  • Software Engineering: Over 3 years of experience in systems software engineering with knowledge of modern software development practices and tools, concurrent and distributed programming, operating systems, computer networks, and database systems. 
  • Industrial Experience: Over 3 years of experience in developing and delivering scalable products used by customers in production environments, beyond prototyping.
• Leadership Skills:
  • Proven leadership experience, including leading teams of engineers or researchers, managing projects, and mentoring junior team members.
  • Emotional intelligence and the ability to inspire and motivate a team. Empower managers and engineers to understand the large context, drive and initiate improvements
  • Adaptability to change and a growth mindset.
  • Ability to communicate efficiently and articulate concepts based on multi-cultural, multi-functional audience.
• Skills in Computer Vision:
  • Experience in driving innovation and solving complex technical challenges in computer vision.
  • Ability to anticipate future trends in computer vision and proactively adapt strategies.
  • Deep knowledge in several of the following computer vision concepts:
    • Camera calibration
    • Object detection
    • KeyPoint triangulation
    • Object tracking
    • Object segmentation
    • Optical character recognition (OCR)
    • People re-identification
    • Skeletal pose estimation
    • Mesh-based representation of players
    • Extended reality
      

 Our Technology Stack: 

• Languages and frameworks: C++, Rust, Python
• Servers: Ubuntu Linux, Nvidia GPUs
• Cloud: Tailscale, Docker, Kubernetes, Prometheus, Grafana, AWS cloud
   

Our Work Environment and What You Will Benefit From 

• Become part of the world of elite sports, build systems that support data analytics and augmentation for the best leagues
• Enjoy an innovative, collaborative, and dynamic environment that encourages self-development
• Enjoy working in a multi-cultural environment, with teams from around the globe. The position requires some amount of travel to our headquarters in NYC or other offices (travel requirement for this position is less than 10% of the time).
• 25 days holiday per year + extra holidays between Christmas and New Year's Eve
• Improved insurance plan, including accident, loss of earnings in case of sickness and occupational plan
• Office location only 2-min walk from the Lausanne train station. We require a Hybrid setup and work from the Lausanne office, at least 2 days per week.

The base salary range for this role is CHF 180,000 - CHF 250,000. There are a number of factors which affect what the specific pay for this role is including seniority and relevant educational and working experience.  

Second Spectrum, part of Genius Sports Group, is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We recognize and celebrate the benefits that a diverse and inclusive workforce brings to our business, our customers, and our staff. We welcome and will consider all applications regardless of age, different abilities or disability, gender identity or re-assignment, marriage, pregnancy, maternity, race or nationality, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation (and any other applicable status). Please let us know when you apply if you need any assistance during the recruiting process due to a disability.