Research Data Analyst

Naughty Dog•Santa Monica, CA

10h•$52 - $65•Hybrid

About The Position

Naughty Dog is looking for a Research Data Analyst to join our User Research team and help us better understand how players engage with our games. In this role, you’ll work closely with Sony Game Analytics and development teams to turn player data into insight that can directly support creative and production decisions. This position is ideal for someone who is curious, analytical, and deeply interested in how player behavior connects to game systems and design intent. Beyond working with technical tools and valuable reports, you’ll be expected to identify meaningful trends, surfacing potential issues, to help teams understand the “why” behind player patterns. A strong candidate will be comfortable working across disciplines and excited to contribute to our games.

Requirements

3–5 years of experience in data analysis, analytics, UX research support, or a related field.
Experience working with telemetry data and game analytics workflows.
Strong analytical and statistical skills, including experience with SQL, Python, R, MongoDB, or similar tools.
Experience with analytics platforms such as Tableau, Looker, or similar platforms
A deep curiosity about player psychology, motivation, and behavior.
High attention to detail, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability
Ability to effectively present information to top management and key stakeholders
A collaborative mindset and adaptability to the ever changing needs of video game production.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in Data Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, Psychology, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, or a related quantitative or research focused field.
Familiarity with narrative, single player game research and player experience evaluation.
Solid understanding of probability, statistics, and applied mathematical reasoning.
Ability to interpret technical and research materials and communicate findings clearly in reports and presentations.
Possesses a high degree of technical curiosity, regularly exploring how tools work under the hood.
Prior experience with AAA console or PC game development.

Responsibilities

Analyze gameplay telemetry, player feedback, and research findings to identify trends, friction points, and opportunities across systems and features.
Translate complex datasets into clear insights and recommendations that inform design, prioritization, and development strategy.
Build and maintain dashboards and reporting tools to communicate key metrics and progress over time with tools like Tableau and Omni.
Partner with Sony Game Analytics, Gameplay, Engineering, and Design to support telemetry design, event tracking, and data quality.
Collaborate with User Research to connect quantitative analysis with qualitative findings from studies and playtests.
Participate in research efforts to better understand player behavior firsthand and identify new measurement opportunities.