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Program Manager, Talent Acquisition

perplexity

Híbrido San Francisco
Project Management Talent Acquisition Project Manager Public Relations

Job Score

100 pts
Hybrid model (+80) Project Management (+10) Talent Acquisition (+10) Project Manager (+10)

Perplexity is scaling at a pace few companies ever experience, and talent is the surface where our biggest bets get won or lost. We're hiring a Program Manager to sit at the center of that motion, owning the mission-critical, cross-functional programs that shape how we plan, prioritize, and hire.

This is a uniquely visible seat, reserved for operators who thrive in ambiguity and have a track record of driving companywide initiatives to measurable outcomes. You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with recruiting leadership, executives, and cross-functional partners to architect the systems, operating rhythms, and decision-making frameworks that let the company move faster and with more clarity. When a complex, high-stakes program needs an owner, you're the person leadership turns to.

What You'll Do

  • Own Perplexity's most consequential talent programs end-to-end, from ambiguous mandate to shipped outcome

  • Partner directly with executives and recruiting leadership to turn strategy into programs with clear owners, milestones, and accountability

  • Drive cross-functional initiatives across Recruiting, People, Finance, and business leadership, aligning stakeholders and clearing blockers before they escalate

  • Design the operating cadence of the org: planning cycles, prioritization, reporting rhythms, and executive updates that keep leadership decisive

  • Build the systems, tooling, and workflows that let recruiting scale, automating the repetitive so human judgment goes to the highest-leverage work

  • Stand up the metrics and dashboards that turn hiring data into faster, sharper decisions

  • Anticipate risk on the highest-visibility programs, communicate crisply under pressure, and drive to resolution when priorities shift

  • Set the bar for program excellence and codify repeatable playbooks the rest of the company can adopt

What You Bring

  • 7+ years of program or project management experience, including ownership of companywide, mission-critical initiatives

  • Direct experience partnering with and presenting to executives on high-stakes, cross-functional work

  • Track record of driving ambiguous programs to measurable outcomes in fast-paced, rapidly scaling environments

  • Operational rigor. You build order out of chaos and design systems that outlast you

  • Strong analytical instincts, with the ability to structure messy data into clear direction for leadership

  • Sharp communication and stakeholder judgment, with the discretion to operate on sensitive, high-visibility work

  • A builder's mindset and a bias for action, aligned with Perplexity's ethos of building what hasn't been built before

  • Recruiting, talent, or People-org program experience is a plus, but we're optimizing for the best operators first

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About Project Management

Project Management is essential to ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and with quality. PM professionals coordinate teams, manage risks, and communicate with stakeholders.

Key methodologies include PMBOK, PRINCE2, Scrum, and Kanban. Tools like Jira, Asana, Monday, and MS Project are widely used in daily work.

Certifications like PMP and PgMP are important differentiators in the market, with growing demand in technology and consulting companies.

About Talent Acquisition

Talent Acquisition is the strategic area responsible for attracting, selecting, and hiring the best professionals for the organization. Unlike traditional recruitment, TA acts as a strategic business partner, aligning talent acquisition with the company's long-term objectives.

Key skills include advanced sourcing, employer branding, labor market analysis, talent pipeline management, and candidate experience. Tools like LinkedIn Recruiter, ATS (Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby), and assessment platforms are essential.

TA professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master tech sourcing, workforce planning, and recruitment metrics like time-to-hire and cost-per-hire.

About Project Manager

The Project Manager is the professional responsible for planning, executing, and controlling projects end-to-end, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and with the expected quality. With the growing complexity of businesses, project management professionals are fundamental to organizational success.

Key skills include planning and scheduling, scope, cost, risk, quality, and resource management, stakeholder communication, cross-functional team leadership, and use of agile and traditional methodologies. Certifications like PMP, PRINCE2, and Six Sigma are important differentiators.

Project Managers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), tools like Jira and MS Project, and can deliver complex projects efficiently. The field offers opportunities from project analyst to head of PMO, with a focus on execution, governance, and business value.

About Public Relations

The Public Relations (PR) area focuses on managing the reputation, image, and communication of an organization with its various stakeholders (such as clients, investors, employees, media, and the community). PR professionals develop corporate communication strategies, manage media relations (press relations), organize institutional events, and work in image crisis prevention and management.

Discover Other Areas

Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.

About Content

The Content and Social Media area is essential for building digital presence and audience engagement. Professionals create content strategies, manage social networks, and develop impactful brand narratives.

Key skills include copywriting, storytelling, community management, metrics analysis, audiovisual production, and knowledge of each platform algorithms.

With the growth of influencer marketing and social commerce, this area continues to generate new career opportunities.

About IT Governance

IT Governance is the area responsible for ensuring that information technology resources are used strategically, efficiently, and in compliance with standards and regulations. IT governance professionals ensure that technology supports business objectives in a secure and reliable manner.

Key skills include IT service management (ITIL), IT audit and compliance, risk management, business continuity, disaster recovery, metrics and indicators (SLAs, KPIs), and strategic alignment between IT and business. Frameworks like COBIT, ITIL, ISO 27001, and compliance standards are essential.

IT Governance professionals in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master ITSM, IT audit, and risk management. The field offers opportunities from governance analyst to CIO/CTO, with a focus on efficiency, compliance, security, and business value.

About Customer Service

The Customer Service / Client Relations area is essential for ensuring customer satisfaction, retention, and a good relationship. Professionals in this field are the primary interface for communication, handling inquiries, requests, feedback, and ensuring a high-quality day-to-day experience. Skills in communication, problem-solving, empathy, and patience are indispensable.

About Mobile Development

Mobile Development is one of the most dynamic and constantly evolving fields in the technology market. With billions of smartphones worldwide, the demand for qualified mobile developers continues to grow exponentially.

Key stacks include Flutter (Dart), React Native (JavaScript/TypeScript), Kotlin (Android native), Swift (iOS native), and hybrid frameworks like Ionic and Capacitor. Knowledge of mobile architecture (MVVM, Clean Architecture), mobile CI/CD (Fastlane, Bitrise, Codemagic), and App Store/Google Play publishing are essential.

Senior mobile developers are highly valued professionals, with competitive salaries and many remote work opportunities at international companies. Specializing in cross-platform or native is a strategic career decision.

About Technical Support

Technical Support is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and retention. Support professionals resolve technical issues, document solutions, and identify patterns that can lead to product improvements.

Key skills include troubleshooting, customer service, technical documentation, ITIL knowledge, and ticketing tools (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom).

Technical support has evolved from a reactive to a proactive function, with high-level professionals working in Customer Engineering and Support Engineering.

Career Guides

Technology Career Guide

Planning, skills, interviews, and professional growth in IT, Data Science, DevOps, and Product.

Read full guide →

Design Career Guide

UX/UI, Graphic Design, Product Design. Portfolio, tools, interviews, and growth in the Design field.

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Marketing Career Guide

SEO, Paid Media, Growth, Content Marketing. Certifications, tools, and strategies to grow in Digital Marketing.

Read full guide →

Finance Career Guide

Financial market, investments, corporate finance, certifications, and strategies to grow in the financial field.

Read full guide →

Communication Career Guide

Journalism, PR, Corporate Communication, Content Marketing, and Multimedia Production.

Read full guide →

Administration Career Guide

Business Management, HR, Logistics, Consulting, Project Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Read full guide →

Data Career Guide

Data Science, Data Engineering, BI, Machine Learning, and AI. From training to the job market.

Read full guide →

Product Career Guide

Product Management, Product Ownership, Agile, Scrum, and OKRs. From strategy to execution.

Read full guide →

Tech & Remote Glossary

Stop getting lost in interviews and job descriptions

The job market, especially within tech and global companies, has developed its own dialect. Not understanding these acronyms can make you lose valuable opportunities or poorly negotiate your contract. To end this problem, we created the Definitive Glossary for the Remote Professional.

🏢 Work Models & Routine

Async (Asynchronous Work)
A communication model where responses don't need to be immediate. Instead of back-to-back meetings, the team relies on well-structured documents, threads, and messages. It's the gold standard for global companies spanning multiple time zones.
Sync (Synchronous Work)
The opposite of Async. It requires the team to be online and available at the same time for meetings, live chats, and real-time collaboration.
Daily / Stand-up
A quick daily meeting (usually 15 minutes) common in Agile (Scrum) methodologies. The team answers three questions: What did I do yesterday? What will I do today? Are there any blockers?
All-Hands / Town Hall
A company-wide meeting involving all employees. Usually led by the founders (C-Levels) to present results, new goals, and answer team questions.
1:1 (One-on-One)
A recurring individual meeting between a professional and their direct manager. It is used for career alignment, feedback, and problem-solving, not just for project status updates.

💰 Contracts, Benefits & Compensation

PTO (Paid Time Off)
Instead of strict, categorized leave policies, modern US companies usually offer a flexible pool of days (e.g., 20 days of PTO, or even "Unlimited PTO") that you can use for vacations, sick days, or personal matters, while receiving your regular compensation.
Equity / Stock Options
Company ownership. The startup offers you the right to buy shares at a heavily discounted strike price in the future. If the company grows, goes public, or is acquired, these shares can be highly lucrative.
Vesting (Vesting Schedule)
The rule that controls your Equity. It usually lasts 4 years. You don't get all the shares on day one; you "earn" them gradually as you stay with the company. A "1-year Cliff" means you must stay for at least one year to receive your first batch of shares.
RSUs (Restricted Stock Units)
Unlike Stock Options (where you have the right to buy the stock), RSUs are actual shares the company grants you as a bonus or part of your compensation package, following a strict Vesting schedule.
Independent Contractor (1099 / B2B)
The most common international hiring model for global talent working for US companies. You act as a service provider (business-to-business), receiving the gross salary (often six-figure compensation) without standard local payroll tax deductions at the source.

🤖 Recruitment & Hiring Process

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
The "robot" that reads your resume. Software like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday are used to filter candidates by keywords before a human even looks at the document. (Pro tip: this is why your resume must be clean, semantic, and have the right keywords).
JD (Job Description)
The document that lists the responsibilities, technical requirements, and benefits of the open position.
Cultural Fit
The interview stage that evaluates if your core values, communication style, and worldview align with the company's culture. This is the ultimate test of your Soft Skills.
Onboarding
The integration process. It's the period of your first few weeks at the company, where you get your access credentials, learn about the culture, study the internal documentation, and understand how the product works.

🚀 How to use this to your advantage?

The secret isn't just knowing what these acronyms mean, but using them actively. If during an interview for a premium tech role you ask, "How does your PTO policy and Vesting schedule work?", the recruiter will immediately perceive you as a high-level professional, familiar with the global market standards.

The remote job market requires preparation. And having the right vocabulary is the first big step to securing six-figure proposals and standing out among thousands of applicants.

Expert Tip

Agile and Project Management in Today's Market

1. Move Beyond "Doing Agile": Deliver Real Value

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make in interviews for Agile roles is focusing too much on ceremonies (Dailies, Plannings, Retrospectives) and forgetting their actual purpose. Recruiters from global tech companies want to know how you eliminated bottlenecks and boosted team efficiency.

"True Agile success isn't measured by how many practices you implement, but by how much value you deliver to the customer and how quickly you do it."

Instead of writing "facilitated Scrum ceremonies" on your resume, use a results-driven approach: "Reduced team Cycle Time by 20% by identifying and removing bottlenecks in the value stream."

2. Certifications That Actually Bypass the ATS

While practical experience is the ultimate deciding factor, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) used by top US companies (like Greenhouse, Ashby, and Workday) filter resumes strictly through keywords. Holding the right certifications ensures you pass this first robotic barrier and get your profile in front of a human recruiter.

  • Professional Scrum Master (PSM I, II) by Scrum.org: Highly respected because it doesn't require renewal and features a rigorous, Scrum Guide-based exam.
  • Project Management Professional (PMP) by PMI: The gold standard for traditional, predictive, and hybrid Project Management.
  • PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP): Excellent for demonstrating broad knowledge across multiple Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban, Lean).
  • SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework): Absolutely essential if you are targeting Enterprise-level corporations that have scaled Agile across thousands of employees.

3. Mastering Flow Metrics and Tools (Hard Skills)

The modern Agile professional must be data-driven. Companies offering six-figure compensation expect you to extract actionable insights from tools like Jira, Confluence, or Azure DevOps.

During technical interviews, be prepared to discuss how you utilize flow metrics, such as:

  • Lead Time and Cycle Time: To measure efficiency and the actual time it takes to deliver requests.
  • Throughput: The number of work items completed in a given timeframe.
  • Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD): To visually identify bottlenecks in the workflow.
  • OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): To align the development team's daily work with the company's high-level strategic goals.

4. Soft Skills and Conflict Resolution in Async Teams

In global, remote-first, and asynchronous environments, communication is the biggest challenge. A top-tier Project Manager or Scrum Master acts as a shield for the tech team and a bridge for stakeholders.

Demonstrate emotional intelligence, empathy, and negotiation skills. You will often face situational questions like: "How would you handle a Product Owner who constantly changes the Sprint scope mid-cycle?" Your answer should highlight peaceful, data-driven negotiation focused on business impact and team predictability.

Conclusion: Your Competitive Edge

To land premium Project Management and Agile roles, you must position yourself as a strategic business partner, not just a process enforcer. Understand the product, master the metrics, and know how to guide people towards continuous improvement.

References & Useful Links