Turning a USF Degree Into a Giants Front Office Career

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He helps oversee two sides of a multifaceted front office: international operations, which encompass scouting, evaluation, and operations out of the Dominican Republic, and the administrative engine behind the roster, including salary obligations and league rules and regulations. A San Jose native and first-generation Mexican American, he studied economics at UC San Diego and started out in SEO and digital marketing. He then earned his master’s in sport management from the University of San Francisco, the program that put him on track to join the Giants as an intern in 2011. Fifteen years later, he is driven by family and a belief that small things done well move big outcomes.

Spanish First

Jose was born and raised in San Jose and remains rooted in the Bay Area today. His parents both came from Mexico as teenagers, and he grew up in a Spanish-speaking household. As a kid, being pushed to speak Spanish felt like a chore. Now he sees it differently. “I attribute basically 95% of my success to the fact that I grew up speaking Spanish,” he says. “It’s basically why I’m here.” He chose to sit for this interview on Mexican Independence Day, and keeping his daughter connected to that culture matters to him.

He is also candid about his industry. “Baseball is a very diverse on-the-field industry. It’s not so diverse off the field.” He takes every chance he gets to show people from diverse backgrounds that there is a career for them in the front office too.

The Internship That Pointed to USF

At UCSD, Jose studied economics with no set plan. About a year and a half in, while working as a bank teller, he spotted the San Diego Padres at a campus career fair. “When I saw a baseball opportunity, I didn’t think about my career. I just thought this would be fun.” He missed out on the marketing internship the first time, which only fired up his competitive streak. “I can’t not get an internship,” he remembers thinking. He landed it as a junior.

Asked about the moment that shaped his career most, Jose points to that Padres season. The work mattered less than the people. They showed him how many careers existed inside baseball, and they spoke highly of USF’s sport management program, planting what he calls “that little nugget in my brain.” After graduating, he spent a year in an entry-level SEO and digital marketing role with Covario, a San Diego firm consulting for Fortune 500 companies. Then, in 2009, he enrolled at USF.

The USF Cohort Effect

Jose admits he arrived at USF without a clear picture of where he was headed. “I was very naive,” he says. The program changed that by putting him in a room with 25 to 35 like-minded classmates, all competitive and all obsessed with the sports world. Each week someone was trying a new internship or volunteer role somewhere. “It was very motivating,” he says.

More than anything, USF gave him the opportunity to be surrounded by people chasing the same goal, a support system that made the industry feel within reach. Classmates would try something, decide whether it fit, and move on without losing momentum. Jose did the same, taking every internship and volunteer opportunity he could find, including a stint with Octagon’s football practice, while still doing work for Covario on the side. He calls the cohort “really strong-willed, very good people” and says being part of the program was “probably the biggest benefit for me.” He still looks for ways to give back to USF today.

Saying No to the Giants

Before he had even finished the program, Jose had made himself competitive for a Giants internship. The team offered him one in 2010, and he turned it down. Coming off back-to-back unpaid internships, he couldn’t make the numbers work. “I can’t take another unpaid internship,” he told them. “I’ve got to save up some money, and then I’ll come back and apply again.” The Giants were shocked. He went back to Covario, saved, finished USF, and applied again. In 2011, he joined Giants baseball operations as an intern, months after the 2010 World Series title. He was there for the championships in 2012 and 2014. He made an extremely difficult and risky decision, and the second chance he remains grateful for became a 16-year career with the Giants.

The 1% Mindset

Early on, Jose printed and assembled advance reports for the staff, checking every page, statistic, and transaction, sometimes sprinting to FedEx at 9 p.m. to get them out. He treated the work like it mattered. A task done right might help win a game. A win might mean the playoffs. The playoffs might mean a title. Today his question is the same: what can he improve, big or small, to make the organization “incrementally 1% better”? He pairs that with a clear standard. He has watched good people come and go in an unforgiving industry, and his approach is simple: “I’m going to do this the right way. I’m going to be honest. I’m going to have integrity.”

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Bigger Than the Box Score

Jose’s first why is family. His wife has supported his career since they were dating during his USF days. His six-year-old daughter keeps losses in perspective. “She’s got her friend circle. She’s got math problems she’s working on. It’s her life.” His second why is winning again. He arrived during a championship stretch, and he sees the chance to rebuild as “almost like a blank canvas,” a space to experiment and help bring a title back to San Francisco.

Stay Humble, Stay the Course

His advice to his younger self starts with humility. “There’s always someone in the room that probably has more knowledge or more information. Don’t let one week’s work make you feel like you know everything about everything.” Then stay the course, even when the work feels thankless.

For students, his message is patience. Most of the job happens outside the big room: spreadsheets, data, budget work. Do those things well and connect them to the big picture. “It’s not going to happen fast, and if you expect it to happen fast, you’re going to be very frustrated.” And frustration, he warns, is a quick way out the door.