Behavioral Case: Disagreement on Model Selection Under Deadline

Context: You are a Data Scientist working with engineering, product, and an external client. A critical release has a tight deadline. There is a strong disagreement with the tech lead about which model to ship.

Please address the following prompts (use STAR or similar structure):

1. Project and Disagreement
   • Describe the project goals, constraints (e.g., latency, on-device limits, privacy), and the specific disagreement on model selection.
2. Surfacing the Conflict and Structuring the Decision
   • How did you bring the conflict to light constructively?
   • How did you structure the decision (trade-offs, risks, data, and who decides)?
3. Independent Validation
   • What experiments/analyses did you run on your own to test and validate your position?
4. Managing a Harsh External Client
   • If a client pushed to ship immediately and dismissed your concerns, how did you set boundaries, communicate status/risks, and maintain trust?
5. Escalation with Manager Unavailable
   • If the client escalates while your manager is unavailable, what concrete steps would you take in the next 24 hours?
6. Documentation to Prevent Re‑litigation
   • How would you document decisions so the team doesn’t re-argue the same points later?

Assume reasonable constraints if any details are missing, and make them explicit in your answer.