Research Engineer

About the Role

We are seeking a Research Engineer to join our Data Analytics team, embedded within the Men’s First Team Analysis department. This pivotal position involves collaborating closely with Analytics and Analysis colleagues to design, implement, and deploy comprehensive internal products that support the Men’s First Team.

The successful candidate will work alongside various staff members across the club, including Analysts and Coaching teams, to develop data-centric applications and tools for football analysis. They will foster adoption of our proprietary advanced technologies within coaching and analytical workflows while identifying opportunities to expand applied research capabilities.

This role reports directly to both the Head of Software & Analytics and Men’s First Team Head of Analysis. Responsibilities include gathering requirements from stakeholders at Sobha Realty Training Centre and partnering with team members to prioritize and deliver relevant analytical applications and tools.

Who We Are

We are one of the world’s most renowned football clubs, boasting a storied history filled with success. Alongside our commitment to excellence in the sport, we are deeply invested in our local community and offer diverse career pathways. Our core purpose is to foster a winning team culture and community by being courageous in pursuing progress, championing inclusivity, and upholding integrity.

Commitment to Safeguarding

We are dedicated to providing safe, inclusive environments for children, young people, and adults at risk. The selected candidate will be required to undergo a DBS check (basic, standard, or enhanced depending on role responsibilities) and other necessary background screenings before commencing employment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain full-stack applications tailored for club stakeholders, ensuring they are efficient, reliable, and scalable.
• Automate and optimize critical football analysis tasks using a blend of software engineering and applied machine learning techniques.
• Collaborate intensively with the Football Analysis department to deeply understand their workflows and design technical solutions that enhance these processes.
• Serve as an applied AI specialist, leading projects integrating artificial intelligence methods within football analytics.
• Maximize the impact of applied research by aligning it with realistic coaching and analysis requirements and constraints.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Advanced qualification in a quantitative field such as computer science, data science, mathematics, statistics, or data visualization, with demonstrated ability to create technical, data-driven solutions.
• Strong foundation in software engineering and machine learning principles, capable of reasoning about research ideas and engineering trade-offs and comfortable building full-stack applications.
• Good design sensibility to develop and evaluate data visualization and user interfaces.
• Proven experience creating scalable data-driven software applications.
• Proficiency in Python, SQL, and JavaScript/TypeScript programming languages.
• Familiarity with the PyData ecosystem including numpy, Pandas/Polars, and visualization tools like matplotlib, seaborn, or Altair.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical teams, understand stakeholder requirements, and evaluate project proposals critically.
• Adaptability and proactive mindset to thrive in a dynamic, high-intensity environment, accommodating flexible schedules for collaboration with Men’s First Team staff during training and matchdays.
• Self-motivated and highly independent, able to manage ambiguity and foster clarity through collaboration.
• Experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow.
• Strong knowledge and passion for football, motivated to contribute to the club’s success on and off the pitch.

Employee Benefits

• Reward and recognition program that celebrates contributions.
• Generous holiday allowance that increases with service length.
• Robust internal learning and professional development initiatives.
• Flexible hybrid working options.
• Priority opportunities to apply for match tickets.
• Comprehensive health and wellbeing benefits.
• Access to a leading Employee Assistance Programme.
• Attractive discounts through our partner organizations.
• Participation opportunities in Employee Networks supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Our commitment to creating an inclusive club environment is reflected in our Arsenal for Everyone initiative, promoting equality, diversity, and a sense of belonging. We embrace diverse backgrounds and skills as essential to our collective success.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applicants with disabilities and long-term health conditions to apply. We provide disability-related accommodations during the recruitment process and offer interview opportunities under the Disability Confident Scheme where applicable.

Additional Information

The application deadline is Thursday 6th August 2026. We reserve the right to close applications early if a large volume is received. Applicants are advised to apply promptly.

Communications regarding application status will be sent via email; please check spam and junk folders regularly.

We look forward to receiving your application and wish you the best of luck!