Custom Interview Design and Scorecard Development
Purpose-built interview frameworks and scorecards for the exact role you are hiring.
What this service is
A tailored service for companies that want the interview process shaped around the exact role they are hiring for. We help define what should be tested, how deeply it should be tested, and how the interview should distinguish between adjacent roles such as AI engineer, ML engineer, data scientist, data engineer, or MLOps engineer. We also develop role-specific scorecards and evaluation criteria so candidates are measured against the real requirements of the position rather than vague interviewer impressions.
Most interview processes for technical roles are either borrowed from somewhere else or built informally over time — questions remembered from someone's own hiring experience, rubrics copied from online templates, or evaluation criteria that exist in interviewers' heads rather than on paper. For AI, ML, and data science roles, this approach produces inconsistent feedback, makes it difficult to compare candidates, and often fails to distinguish what strong actually looks like for the specific role in question. Custom Interview Design & Scorecard Development replaces informal interviewing with a structured, role-specific framework — built around what the role actually requires, calibrated to the seniority level you are hiring for, and designed to produce actionable output that supports real hiring decisions.
Problems this solves
- Different interviewers on your team are evaluating candidates against different criteria, producing feedback that is hard to reconcile and almost impossible to act on consistently
- You are hiring for adjacent roles — AI engineer, ML engineer, data scientist — but your interview process does not clearly distinguish between them
- Post-interview debrief conversations turn into arguments because evaluators have no shared standard to refer back to
- Your scorecards are vague — "strong communicator," "seemed knowledgeable" — rather than evidence-based assessments against defined criteria
- You are about to start a significant hiring push and want to make sure the evaluation process is solid before candidates move through it
What you receive
- Role discovery session — we learn the actual job requirements, team context, and seniority expectations
- Custom interview question bank designed for the specific role and level
- Role-specific scorecard with weighted competency areas calibrated to what the role requires
- Evaluation criteria and anchor descriptions for each competency area
- Guidance on distinguishing adjacent roles in your evaluation process
How it works
Role discovery
A structured conversation — typically 45–60 minutes — where we learn what the role actually requires: the team context, the technical environment, what separates strong from weak at your specific seniority level, and how this role differs from adjacent positions.
Framework design
We build a custom interview structure and question bank calibrated to the specific role and your hiring bar. Competency areas are weighted according to what the role actually demands, not generic technical interview templates.
Scorecard delivery
You receive a ready-to-use scorecard with competency areas, evaluation criteria, and anchor descriptions — a tool that guides the interviewer and produces output you can compare across candidates and act on confidently.
Who this is for
- Companies building a technical interview process from scratch for AI/ML/DS roles
- Hiring teams that interview frequently and need a consistent, repeatable evaluation framework
- Organizations trying to distinguish between adjacent roles in their evaluation process
- Companies whose interview feedback is inconsistent, vague, or hard to act on
Roles we cover
This service covers AI, ML, and data science roles — each evaluated against domain-specific criteria, not a generic technical checklist.
AI Engineer Interviews
Expert evaluation for candidates building LLM-powered products, RAG systems, and AI-native applications
ML Engineer Interviews
Structured ML engineer interviews that evaluate both modeling depth and production engineering execution
Data Scientist Interviews
Structured data scientist interviews for teams who need to evaluate statistics, experimentation, modeling, and business judgment — all in one assessment
Ready to get started?
Buy a single interview or book a call to discuss ongoing capacity.
Frequently asked questions
What happens in the role discovery session?
The discovery session is a structured conversation — typically 45 to 60 minutes — where we learn what the role actually requires. We ask about the team context, the technical environment, what the person will be doing day-to-day, what separates strong from mediocre at your specific hiring bar, and how this role differs from adjacent positions. The output is a clear picture of what we are designing the interview to test for.
Can you design frameworks for multiple roles in one engagement?
Yes. If you are building an interview process for an AI/ML team and need evaluation frameworks for AI engineers, ML engineers, and data scientists, we can scope the engagement to cover all three. Multi-role engagements are scoped based on the number of distinct roles and the depth of customization required for each.
Who owns the scorecard and question bank after delivery?
You do. Once we deliver the framework, it is yours to use for as many interviews as you conduct. There is no per-use fee, no licensing restriction, and no ongoing dependency on us — unless you want us to run the interviews using the framework, which is available through Interview as a Service.
How is a custom scorecard different from generic rubrics available online?
Generic rubrics cover broad categories — problem solving, communication, technical knowledge — with no specificity about what good looks like for your role at your seniority level. Our scorecards define each competency area, describe what a strong response looks like versus a weak one, and weight the areas according to what actually matters for the position. The result is a tool that guides the interviewer and produces actionable output, not a checklist that generates vague impressions.
Do we need Sunray Hire to run the interviews, or can we run them ourselves?
Either. The framework is designed to be used by your own interviewers independently — with appropriate guidance on how to apply the criteria. If you would prefer us to run the interviews using the custom framework, that is available through Interview as a Service. Many clients start with custom design and use the framework in-house, while others use both services together.
How long does the full engagement take?
From role discovery session to final scorecard delivery, most custom design engagements are completed within one to two weeks. Timeline depends on the number of roles, how quickly the discovery session can be scheduled, and whether iteration is needed after the initial draft. We confirm the expected timeline before the engagement begins.
More questions? See the full FAQ or contact us directly.
Related services
Interview as a Service
Expert-led candidate evaluations — without pulling your engineers off real work.
Recurring — direct hireMonthly Retainer — End Clients
Consistent technical evaluation capacity for teams hiring AI, ML, and data talent at volume.
Standalone or add-onWritten Candidate Debriefs
Clear post-interview write-ups that make hiring decisions faster and more confident.
Ready to hire with more confidence?
Get a structured technical evaluation delivered by a practitioner who knows the domain — not a generic screener.