Apr 29 2019

A Little Data Goes a Long Way: A Q&A With Research Scientist Andrew K.

By Meta Careers
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Advertisers rely on Facebook every day to connect with customers, but how do those businesses understand the value of those investments while adhering to the privacy preferences of consumers? Meet Andrew K., a member of Facebook's Statistics & Privacy team, who is using cryptography and statistics to measure and improve ad effectiveness. We sat down with him to learn about his team, their work, and why Facebook is a great place to do what they do.

What do you do at Facebook as a research scientist?

I design and prototype systems that allow marketers to understand the real impact of their investments on our platforms. It’s essential that we build these systems to respect consumer privacy, so we’re often leveraging cryptography and differential privacy, in addition to causal inference. Our R&D projects are designed from the outset to yield products that are accessible to millions of advertisers and benefit billions of people.

What skills does a research scientist need?

Research scientists leverage domain expertise to improve the capabilities of our systems, and often advance the state of the art in the industry. Everyone has a strong research background, often stemming originally from a PhD program in STEM or quantitative social science. We look for candidates who have a strong understanding of applied challenges and are technically skilled. But it’s also critical for candidates to have a good grasp on effective communication. We can’t disappear in a closed room and emerge one month later with a new idea. We consistently brainstorm together, discuss new products to better understand what’s feasible and what isn’t, and work with other teams to pursue our goals.

How has your background helped you succeed in this role?

My background is unusual. After studying nuclear structure, I began tackling challenges in banking fraud prevention and advertising data science. Over the course of my career, I’ve learned to handle diverse data sets under a variety of situations, handle both high-level data flow and low-level implementation details, understand business requirements, and organize people around solving a problem—skills that have all contributed to my success as a research scientist here at Facebook. The last few years I’ve focused on applied cryptography; it’s important to carve out time each week to not only read research papers, but to develop deeper understanding and perspective.

How do you provide valuable solutions for your advertisers?

It’s crucial for our team to understand the intersection of what’s important to people using our platforms, and what’s valuable to the businesses advertising on Facebook. We build solutions for our advertisers to get the most accurate picture of how their ad purchases affect their sales, and ML-based solutions to help businesses improve the efficiency of their investments on our platform. We also research and implement privacy-enhancing technologies to maintain the privacy and safety of the people using our platforms.

What makes the culture at Facebook different from other places you’ve worked?

Facebook is large and has a relatively informal hierarchy. That's not to say there aren't managers and deadlines, but you work on projects because you believe they are important, not because someone told you to. If you have a cool idea for a new product or project you can go for it and work on it, but you'll need to develop a case for why it is important so other people will want to help you. It's continually refreshing to work at a place where results matter and you're always able to justify the work you are doing.
Another point is that even in New York City, the Facebook offices feel like a campus. It's a little bit like a university, there are thousands of people around you that share a similar purpose, even if you don't know them personally.

What excites you about being at Facebook, besides the work?

As part of the New York office's improv theater group, I practice or perform improv almost every week. It's a social club that has helped me find friends and support. Improv is a great skill for anyone to learn as it helps you think on your feet and open yourself to other people.
I’m also a volunteer for a help and troubleshooting group, assisting employees who are facing challenges with their code and internal data pipeline scheduling tools. I enjoy helping colleagues, and it's been a great way to meet people from all over the company while improving my technical skills.

What keeps you inspired?

Every day I get to participate in conversations with peers at the forefront of their field, and work with them to develop new ideas and ultimately implement them as new products or solutions. Not only that, but the tools we're building to improve user data protection and deliver more accurate insights to advertisers affect billions of people. The incremental changes we make may seem small, but the scale at which they drive impact out in the world is both humbling and inspiring.

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