A Project Manager—often hiring at senior levels as a Senior Technical Program Manager—at Zelis Healthcare plays a critical role in transforming the healthcare financial experience. Operating at the intersection of healthcare payers, providers, and consumers, you will lead high-impact initiatives that directly influence the company’s market-leading payments, claims, and pricing platforms. Your work is central to reducing administrative friction and driving efficiency across complex financial ecosystems.

In this role, you are not merely tracking tasks; you are managing the execution of sophisticated technology integrations and platform migrations. Whether you are leading a cross-functional squad focused on claims optimization or directing a complex migration project, your leadership ensures that engineering, product, and operations remain aligned. The scale of Zelis Healthcare means your projects will directly impact millions of healthcare transactions, making delivery precision and strategic foresight essential.

To succeed, you must navigate a highly regulated environment while maintaining the agility needed to deliver software and services at scale. Candidates who thrive here are those who can translate technical complexity into clear, actionable milestones, manage diverse stakeholder expectations, and maintain a relentless focus on execution quality.

The questions you will face during the Zelis Healthcare interview process are designed to evaluate your project management methodology, leadership style, and ability to navigate cross-functional complexity. While these questions are representative of past interviews, you should focus on understanding the underlying patterns rather than memorizing specific responses.

Agile & Scrum Methodology

• How do you handle a team transition from waterfall to Agile, and what metrics do you use to measure success?
• Walk me through a project where you acted as a Scrum Master. How did you align the team's daily practices with the broader project roadmap?
• How do you manage scope creep during a highly critical sprint cycle?

Preparing for an interview at Zelis Healthcare requires a balanced approach. You must demonstrate both structured project management rigor and the conversational fluidity needed to influence cross-functional teams. Your preparation should focus on articulating your past experiences with clarity, highlighting your decision-making frameworks, and showing how you align project goals with business value.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must show a deep understanding of project management frameworks, particularly Agile and Scrum. Be ready to discuss how you apply these methodologies practically to resolve bottlenecks and optimize delivery speed.

Problem-Solving & Adaptability – Zelis Healthcare operates in a dynamic, highly regulated industry. Interviewers will evaluate how you handle ambiguity, mitigate risks, and pivot when project requirements or regulatory landscapes change unexpectedly.

Leadership & Communication – Because the interview process involves conversations with peer managers and directors, you must demonstrate strong executive presence. Your ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and vice versa is highly valued.

Cultural Alignment – Zelis Healthcare values collaboration, continuous improvement, and accountability. You should be prepared to share examples of how you have fostered healthy team dynamics and taken ownership of project outcomes, even in challenging environments.

The interview process for a Project Manager at Zelis Healthcare is comprehensive and highly conversational. It is structured to evaluate your technical capabilities, delivery track record, and cultural fit through a series of progressive discussions rather than rigid, standardized tests.

The process typically begins with a recruiter screen to assess baseline qualifications and resume alignment. This is followed by a phone interview with the hiring manager, which focuses on your past project management experience and leadership philosophy. If you progress, you will move to the final rounds, which historically involved multiple onsite interviews (or virtual equivalents) with peer managers, team members, and a director. These discussions are free-flowing, allowing you to share concrete examples from your career and discuss your long-term goals.

The timeline above outlines the typical progression from the initial recruiter screen through to the final director interview. Candidates should use this timeline to pace their preparation, ensuring they are ready for deep behavioral and situational discussions by the time they reach the manager and peer rounds. While the exact duration can vary based on team availability, maintaining momentum between these stages is a key focus of the hiring team.

To succeed at Zelis Healthcare, you must perform consistently across several core evaluation areas. The interviewers will use situational and behavioral questions to probe your depth in these domains.

Agile Delivery & Project Ownership

This area focuses on your ability to execute projects efficiently using modern delivery frameworks. Interviewers want to see that you are not just a passive coordinator, but an active driver of project success who can optimize team velocity and remove blockers.

Be ready to go over:

• Sprint Planning & Execution – How you facilitate ceremonies, manage backlogs, and ensure team commitment.
• Velocity & Metrics – Using burn-down charts, cumulative flow diagrams, and velocity trends to predict delivery dates.
• Scrum Master Responsibilities – Coaching teams on Agile principles and shielding them from external distractions.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Scaling frameworks (like SAFe or LeSS) and managing dependencies across multiple agile release trains.

Example scenarios:

• "Describe how you managed a sprint where a key developer unexpectedly went offline."
• "How do you handle a team that is consistently over-promising and under-delivering in sprint cycles?"

Stakeholder Management & Influence

As a Project Manager, you will sit at the center of multiple departments. You must demonstrate that you can manage expectations, align competing priorities, and maintain strong relationships with both technical and business partners.

Be ready to go over:

• Conflict Resolution – Navigating disagreements between product management and engineering regarding scope and technical debt.
• Executive Reporting – Translating complex technical statuses into clear, high-level updates for directors and executives.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Leading projects that require contributions from security, compliance, and infrastructure teams.

Example scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to convince a skeptical stakeholder to approve a change in project direction."
• "How do you keep cross-functional teams aligned when they do not report directly to you?"

Risk & Scope Management

Operating in healthcare fintech means that risks—whether security, regulatory, or operational—are always present. You must prove that you can proactively identify, track, and mitigate risks before they impact your project timelines.

Be ready to go over:

• Risk Registers & Mitigation Plans – How you document risks and establish clear triggers for escalation.
• Scope Control – Differentiating between "must-have" and "nice-to-have" features when timelines are tight.
• Change Management – Managing the impact of late-stage requirement changes on the project team and budget.

Example scenarios:

• "Walk me through a project where a major risk materialized. How did you handle the fallout?"
• "How do you handle a request from a senior executive to add a major feature to a project that is two weeks from launch?"