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Upstart·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Senior

SeniorPrefer not to say
Apr 2026

Summary

Interviewed for a Research Scientist role at Upstart and got hit with a probability puzzle that felt deceptively clean but had a lot of moving parts underneath. The kind of question where you think you know where it's going and then realize halfway through you've been sloppy with your assumptions.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

In a coin-guessing game where a player gets banned after 10 consecutive correct guesses, and each player has at most 100 guesses, derive an analytical expression for the expected number of banned players out of a population of N. Also discuss the probability of hitting a streak of 10 within 100 trials and any approximations you use.

Algorithms & Data StructuresA/B Testing & Experimentation
Author's notes

I started with the easy part: each guess is correct with probability 0.5, so a streak of 10 has base probability (0.5)^10.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Model each player's sequence of guesses as independent Bernoulli trials with success probability p, and define a 'ban' as the occurrence of a run of 10 consecutive successes within 100 trials. Derive the probability of such a run using recurrence relations or Markov chains, then multiply by N for the expected number of banned players. Discuss approximations like Poisson or normal for large N, and clarify assumptions about p and independence.

Pro tip: Always state your assumptions explicitly (e.g., independence, constant p) and mention that the expected value is linear regardless of dependence between players. This shows you understand the underlying probability theory and can communicate it clearly.

1. Clarify assumptions and define the problem

State that each guess is an independent Bernoulli trial with success probability p, and that a ban occurs if there is a run of 10 consecutive successes within 100 trials. Define the indicator variable for each player being banned.

2. Derive the probability of a ban for one player

Use a recurrence relation or Markov chain to compute P(ban) = probability of at least one run of length 10 in 100 trials. For example, let f(n) be the probability of no run of 10 in n trials, and derive a linear recurrence.

3. Compute the expected number of banned players

By linearity of expectation, the expected number of banned players is N * P(ban). This holds regardless of dependence between players.

4. Discuss approximations and special cases

For small p, approximate P(ban) using Poisson approximation or the expected number of runs. For large N, the distribution of banned players is approximately normal or Poisson, depending on P(ban).

5. Summarize and validate

Present the final expression, note any simplifying assumptions (e.g., p=0.5), and mention that the result can be validated via simulation or exact computation for small n.

Key Points to Mention

  • Independence of guesses and constant success probability p
  • Definition of a ban as a run of 10 consecutive successes within 100 trials
  • Use of recurrence relations or Markov chains to compute the probability of a run
  • Linearity of expectation to get N * P(ban)
  • Approximations: Poisson for rare events, normal for large N
  • Special case p=0.5 and numerical example (e.g., P(ban) ≈ 0.044 for p=0.5)

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.