By Adrienne Sylver
When fans watch Inter Miami CF stars like Leo Messi take the field at Nu Stadium, they see the glamour of professional soccer. What most don’t realize is that behind every elite athlete stands an equally dedicated team of experts. At Inter Miami CF, that includes Florida International University alumnus Brandon Gonzalez.
A Miami native who grew up playing soccer and other sports, Gonzalez works as a full-stack software engineer for the club, building the digital infrastructure that helps players perform at peak levels. His work also assists coaches and scouts in the development of the next generation of talent.
“I develop sports apps and platforms to help them build the team,” he says. One of the tools is a performance application that tracks real-time biometric and athletic data for players at every level of the organization, from the first team down to the academy squads, which range from the U-14 to U-20 age groups.
Tracking every step
Players wear GPS trackers during training sessions and matches. The app then captures a variety of metrics, including high-speed running data, meters per second information and calories burned. “Nutrition data is used by our nutritionists to create meal plans for the athletes,” Gonzalez says.
One finding from the data has genuinely surprised him. “You would think with the amount of energy that the players put out in training that they would be super fatigued. But it is the complete opposite. They are so conditioned and take care of their bodies so well, that even running thousands of meters during a practice or match hardly affects them.”
Scouting the future
Beyond player performance, Gonzalez has built an application that allows Inter Miami’s scouting department to search a massive talent directory and identify prospective players. It’s a tool that is sure to shape who wears the club’s iconic pink jersey in the years to come.
Inter Miami CF, co-founded by David Beckham, has rapidly grown into one of Major League Soccer’s marquee franchises. The club’s new Nu Stadium at Miami Freedom Park, which opened in April 2026, is a state-of-the-art facility that has Gonzalez marveling at its technology and scope.
“There are drone detectors and facial recognition systems integrated into stadium security for everyone’s safety,” he explains. “I wanted to find somewhere that I could grow and be significant and Inter Miami is allowing me to combine my lifelong passion for computers and sports. This job is really a dream come true.”
Gonzalez has felt at home since his first day on the job. “The team is full of great people who are very kind and welcoming. They greet everyone who steps in the facility, no matter who it is, with kindness and respect.” He also loves that they are curious about how the applications work, often asking him questions about their metrics and how they might improve.
From kinesiology to coding
After graduating from high school, Gonzalez pursued an associate’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science. His plan was to transfer to FIU to become a physical therapist. But after graduating in 2022, a friend who attended FIU encouraged him to try coding. Quickly, Gonzalez was hooked.
His first FIU programming class was taught by Richard Whittaker, associate teaching professor in the Knight Foundation School of Computing & Information Sciences. “That really sparked my interest in computer science,” Gonzalez says. “He wanted students to strive to do better and always had great conversations before and after class, making sure everyone was learning.”
In addition to what he was absorbing in the classroom, Gonzalez became active in FIU clubs like INIT, which offers workshops, hackathons and interview prep. He also received certifications in software engineering and cyber security through CodePath, an FIU partner, and eventually became a CodePath teaching assistant.
Shortly after graduating from FIU with a BA in computer science in July 2024, Gonzalez became a data science intern with Miami-Dade County’s IT Department and a part-time software engineering fellow with Headstarter AI, roles that translated his skills to real-world work-life scenarios. He joined Inter Miami CF in August of 2025.
Always learning
“I’m still studying. I believe you should never stop learning,” he says. “In computer science, things are constantly changing. You have to adapt. Learning new technologies that come out can only help me grow in my field.”
Away from the office, Gonzalez never strays too far from the sports that shaped him. He still plays soccer recreationally twice a week with friends and hits the gym every day.
Looking ahead, Gonzalez envisions using machine learning to take Inter Miami’s analytics even further, training AI models on years of match data to help predict outcomes and inform strategy.