Owner: HR & People Lead (Anam) — owns the candidate journey from sourcing through
onboarding. HOD (Hamza) owns the technical interview, scoring, and tier classification.
Legal (Habiba) drafts agreements. This page defers toAIS_Screening_Rubric_v5for scoring
detail andAIS_Tier_Classification_v1for tier bands.Status: v2.0 — aligned to AI Specialist Screening & Placement Pipeline SOP v1.0 (Anam,
Sept 2026). Supersedes the previous two-round (take-home + interview) process.
Phase 1 covers the end-to-end process of sourcing, screening, interviewing, scoring, and
routing AI Specialist candidates — from first application to entry into either the internal
team or the client pool, followed by mandatory training.
Owner: Anam (HR). Candidates are sourced from three channels:
The screening process runs as a single ordered sequence. There is one technical interview
(no take-home assignment).
| # | Step | Owner | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initial screening | Anam (HR) | Applications checked against the platform (Indeed) listing criteria and an internal screening criteria layered on top. |
| 2 | Resume shortlisting + Jira card | Anam (HR) | Candidates meeting both criteria are shortlisted; a Jira card is created to track them through the pipeline. |
| 3 | Initial questionnaire | Anam (HR) | A baseline questionnaire is sent to the candidate to capture required information. |
| 4 | Loom video | Anam (HR) — candidate performs | Candidate submits a 2-minute Loom video: self-introduction on camera, a project worked on, a product worked on, and key accomplishments. |
| 5 | WhatsApp screening call | Anam (HR) | A brief call to discuss education and experience and verify the resume and Loom. Candidate must be confirmed against: strong programming, strong automation, strong AI integration, strong AI automation, and good client communication. |
| 6 | Interview scheduling | Anam (HR) | Interview invitation sent via Google Meet; interview guidelines shared in advance so the candidate can prepare. |
| 7 | HOD technical interview | Hamza (HOD) | 30–45 minute technical interview assessing fundamental knowledge, programming knowledge, and problem-solving across the rubric parameters. |
| 8 | Scoring & decision | Hamza (HOD) | HOD scores the interview and decides Accept or Reject. |
Candidates perform activities (the questionnaire, the Loom video, the interview). The
owner of each stage is the staff member managing it — never the candidate.
Owner: Hamza (HOD). Scoring uses the 14-category rubric (AIS_Screening_Rubric_v5) with a
Baseline Gate that must be cleared first.
Evidence for scoring and tiering comes from three combined sources:
(This replaces the previous take-home assignment as an evidence source. The 14 categories,
the Baseline Gate, and the score bands are unchanged — only the evidence feeding them.)
On Accept, the HOD reviews scoring, a cost evaluation is conducted, tier is assigned
(Junior / Mid / Senior per AIS_Tier_Classification_v1), and the candidate is added to the
talent pool.
Owner: Anam (HR). HR conveys the interview feedback (score and outcome) to the candidate,
then determines the track. Every accepted candidate is split into one of two tracks:
These two tracks are destinations, not skill levels. Every candidate on either track then
completes that track's mandatory training (Section 6) before becoming active. There is
no "skip training" fast-path — even a strong Senior completes their track's training.
Owner: Anam (HR) administers — candidate performs. Track A (Internal Team) candidates take
a technical assessment test after the track split. (Track B / Client Pool candidates
skip this assessment — see Section 6.)
The assessment serves three purposes at once: it (1) confirms the internal-team offer,
(2) feeds the tier classification, and (3) gates entry to AIS training (the candidate must pass
before internal training begins).
If a Track A candidate fails the assessment: they are rejected — not moved to the
Client Pool, and no retake is offered.
Training is mandatory for every candidate, on both tracks. Each track has its own training:
| Track | Training | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Track A — Internal Team | AIS training (internal-track focus) | All Track A candidates who pass the assessment |
| Track B — Client Pool | Client Pool training (pre-client, mandatory) | All Track B candidates |
Training terms:
Track B (Client Pool) candidates generally have one interview before entering the pool —
no take-home, no Track A assessment.
Once a candidate completes their track's mandatory training they become active:
| Step | Owner | Candidate performs |
|---|---|---|
| Sourcing | Anam (HR) | — |
| Initial screening + shortlist + Jira card | Anam (HR) | — |
| Questionnaire | Anam (HR) | Completes questionnaire |
| Loom video | Anam (HR) | Submits 2-min video |
| WhatsApp screening call | Anam (HR) | Attends call |
| Interview scheduling | Anam (HR) | — |
| Technical interview | Hamza (HOD) | Attends interview |
| Scoring & decision | Hamza (HOD) | — |
| HR feedback + track split | Anam (HR) | Chooses / is routed to track |
| Track A assessment | Anam (HR) administers | Submits assessment (Track A only) |
| Mandatory training | Per track | Completes training |
| Agreement | Anam (HR) issues; Habiba (Legal) drafts | Signs (after interview) |