Sr. Data Scientist (contract)

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in more than 100, 000 cities and towns located in 220+ countries and regions across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and one-of-a-kind activities that make it possible for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way. Airbnb was born with a creative spirit, and it’s one of the most defining parts of our culture. We use our curiosity and imagination to come up with unconventional solutions. These are the ideas at the core of Airbnb: • Our community is based on connection and belonging. • Our creativity allows us to imagine new possibilities for people. • Our responsibility is to all of our stakeholders. • It takes a unified team committed to our core values to embody these ideas, and our fast-moving team is committed to leading as a 21st century company. The Community You Will Join: The Finance Data Science & Strategy team builds the forecasting models that Airbnb's Treasury and Finance organizations rely on to make funding and planning decisions. We sit at the point where statistical modeling meets real operational stakes: the forecasts we produce move cash, inform funding schedules, and get scrutinized by the partners who depend on them. This is a contract role for a senior data scientist who can own forecasting work end to end and operate as a trusted partner to Treasury. The Difference You Will Make: You will own the forecasting that supports Treasury's funding decisions, from building and maintaining the underlying models to explaining what they are telling us when the numbers move. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role designed to expand forecasting capacity. You will work independently, partner closely with Treasury and FP&A, and deliver forecasts and diagnostics on a recurring production cadence that the funding cycle depends on. A Typical Day: • Build and maintain a portfolio of statistical forecasting models segmented by account characteristics to support Treasury's funding schedule. • Improve forecast accuracy across cash flow directions, prioritizing the areas where funding decisions are most sensitive. • Bring financial planning signals such as cancellations, revenue, and seasonality into the models as covariates, and account for the effect of macro shocks and product changes on user behavior. • Preserve forecast accuracy when Treasury reallocates volume across accounts. • Run diagnostics after each production cycle to explain what drove a miss, where the forecast fell short, and what fixes are planned. • Support the analysis behind manual adjustments to the forecasts. • Serve as the embedded data science partner for Treasury, translating model behavior into terms partners can act on and staying engaged on funding decisions week to week. • Monitor the data workflow for missing or mismatched records, and maintain the pipelines that populate the forecasting tables and reporting dashboards. Your Expertise: • 5+ years of industry experience in a forecasting or quantitative analysis role with a Master’s degree in a quantitative field (computer science, statistics etc.), or 2+ years of experience with a Ph.D. • Strong hands-on expertise in SQL and at least one programming language (Python or R). • Proven experience building and maintaining production time series or statistical forecasting models, including handling structural breaks, interventions, and external shocks. • Experience integrating covariates and external signals into forecasts and validating their contribution. • Experience owning data pipelines end to end, including scheduling, orchestration, and reporting layers. • Strong analytical judgment, with the ability to balance rigor against the speed a recurring production cadence demands. • Demonstrated ability to operate independently, manage multiple workstreams, and deliver against a fixed calendar. • Strong stakeholder communication skills, with a track record of translating model behavior into decisions non-technical partners can act on. • Experience with finance, treasury, or marketplace data strongly preferred. • Familiarity with AI-assisted analytics workflows is a plus. Belonging & Accommodations: Airbnb is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We believe a diversity of ideas fosters innovation and engagement, and allows us to attract the best people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. If you need assistance, or reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please connect with your talent sourcing partner. Pay Rate Range: $80-$107/hr Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K