Project Context
Nimbus is redesigning its hiring process for senior product and engineering roles after candidates reported that the current interview loop is too long, inconsistent, and difficult to schedule. You are the program manager leading a 10-week effort to launch a new interview process across 3 business units: Product, Engineering, and Data. The goal is to reduce candidate drop-off without lowering hiring quality before the company begins a major hiring push next quarter.
The core team includes 1 recruiting operations lead, 2 recruiters, 1 people analytics manager, 1 HRBP, 4 hiring managers, and 1 interview training specialist. The CHRO wants a faster process, while functional leaders want to preserve rigor for hard-to-fill roles.
Key Stakeholders
Key stakeholders include the CHRO, VP of Engineering, Head of Product, recruiting leads, and hiring managers. Recruiting wants fewer interview stages and faster scheduling. Engineering leadership is concerned that shortening loops will reduce signal quality. Product leaders want flexibility by role level, while the HRBP wants a standardized and defensible process.
Constraints
- Timeline: 10 weeks to define, pilot, and launch the new process
- Budget: $85,000 for training, interviewer calibration, and ATS workflow updates
- Scope: 3 business units, 25 active interviewers, and 40 open roles
- Dependency: ATS vendor needs 3 weeks' notice for workflow changes
- Capacity: Hiring managers can spend no more than 3 hours per week on redesign work
Complications
- The VP of Engineering insists on keeping a 7-stage loop for staff-level candidates, which conflicts with the CHRO's target of reducing average time-to-decision by 30%.
- Candidate survey data is incomplete because only 42% of rejected candidates responded last quarter.
- Two recruiters are already supporting a campus hiring launch and have limited bandwidth during weeks 4-6.
Deliverables
- Create a 10-week execution plan with milestones, owners, and dependencies.
- Propose how you would handle stakeholder disagreement on rigor vs. speed.
- Define the pilot scope, launch criteria, and rollback plan.
- Identify the top execution risks and mitigation actions.
- Specify the success metrics you would use in the first 60 days after launch.
