Program Manager, Talent Acquisition

Perplexity
San Francisco, CA
On-siteCareer-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Aimed at mid-level program managers who thrive in ambiguity and have driven companywide initiatives in fast-scaling environments.

Best fit for

  • Operators who excel in chaotic, high-growth settings and deliver measurable outcomes.
    — “thrive in ambiguity and have a track record of driving companywide initiatives to measurable outcomes
  • Builders who design systems that scale beyond their tenure.
    — “design systems that outlast you
  • Executives' go-to for complex, high-stakes programs needing ownership.
    — “When a complex, high-stakes program needs an owner, you're the person leadership turns to

Things to consider

  • High visibility role with direct executive partnership and pressure.
    — “a uniquely visible seat
  • Must structure messy data into clear leadership direction.
    — “ability to structure messy data into clear direction for leadership

How to stand out

  • Showcase specific instances where you turned ambiguity into shipped outcomes.
    — “from ambiguous mandate to shipped outcome
  • Demonstrate how you've codified repeatable playbooks for scaling.
    — “codify repeatable playbooks the rest of the company can adopt
  • Highlight executive communication on sensitive, high-visibility initiatives.
    — “the discretion to operate on sensitive, high-visibility work
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · CompanyLevel · Senior

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Owned talent acquisition programs
  • Designed operating cadence
  • Built systems and tooling
Typical background
7+ years of program management experienceExperience in fast-paced environments

Skills & requirements

Required

Program ManagementCross-functional CollaborationOperational Systems DesignMetrics And DashboardsRisk ManagementCommunication

Preferred

Recruiting Experience

Stack & domain

Program ManagementCross-functional CollaborationOperating RhythmsDecision-making FrameworksRecruitingTalent AcquisitionPeople ManagementFinanceExecutive UpdatesMetricsDashboardsRisk ManagementLeadershipCommunicationStakeholder ManagementAnalytical ThinkingProblem-solvingTeam Collaboration

About the role

Original posting from Perplexity via Ashby

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

Source: Perplexity careers (Ashby)

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