Analyze A/B test with rigorous diagnostics
Company: Airbnb
Role: Data Scientist
Category: Analytics & Experimentation
Difficulty: hard
Interview Round: Technical Screen
Quick Answer: This question evaluates a data scientist's competency in experimental design and rigorous A/B test analysis, including covariate balance checks, primary metric definition and guardrails, intent-to-treat estimation with analytic and bootstrap confidence intervals, variance reduction via CUPED, instrumental-variable estimation for CACE (2SLS), subgroup heterogeneity with multiple-testing control, power/MDE assessment, sequential testing diagnostics, and visualization of treatment effects. Commonly asked in Analytics & Experimentation interviews, it assesses both conceptual understanding of causal inference and statistical diagnostics and practical application skills in implementing robust A/B test analyses and interpreting diagnostic outputs, with the domain focused on applied experimentation and the level of abstraction spanning conceptual understanding and hands-on practical application.