It depends on what you're doing. If you're writing java/python/ruby plumbing, sure some practical experience is great.
If you're job is to improve PageRank, I'd rather much take the person with a strong theoretical background linear algebra, probability, machine learning, and algorithms. That person is more than smart enough to learn the coding on the job.
If you're job is to improve PageRank, I'd rather much take the person with a strong theoretical background linear algebra, probability, machine learning, and algorithms. That person is more than smart enough to learn the coding on the job.