Akraya completes 30,000 technical interviews with Alex and expands delivery capacity

At a Glance

• Approximately 30,000 Alex interviews completed over two years
• Estimated 15,000 hours of screening time saved over that period
• Around 30% of interviews completed after business hours

Scale the technical standard clients rely on

Akraya’s recruiting business depends on technical depth. The Bay Area-based IT staffing and MSP partner has roughly 65–70 recruiters, and about 75–80% trained as engineers. Even with that background, keeping up with every new framework, platform, and production environment is a demanding task.

Before submitting a candidate to a client, Akraya required a delivery manager to conduct a personal technical interview. The approach protected its quality standard, but the number of available interview slots limited how many candidates could receive a full evaluation.

For Sagar Nair, VP of Delivery & India Operations, the challenge was to expand that capacity while giving candidates a substantive technical conversation. A 30-minute screen needed to explore an answer, challenge it where appropriate, and establish useful evidence for the next decision.

Build the operating model with the people who use it

Akraya evaluated Alex alongside other AI interviewing tools in 2024. Sagar’s team was impressed by how Alex followed technical context and responded naturally. The product team’s willingness to act on feedback also helped build confidence in the partnership.

Adoption needed equal attention. Delivery managers had built part of their professional identity around conducting technical interviews. Akraya wanted them involved in shaping how Alex would fit into their work.

The fully remote company brought delivery managers, team leads, and key recruiters to Pune for a full week of in-person onboarding. They worked through questions about the workflow and how their responsibilities would evolve. Sales and account management also joined the adoption effort.

That shared investment helped connect the new process to client value. Alex’s structured reports gave customer-facing teams concrete evidence of the technical evaluation candidates had completed before reaching a hiring manager.

Open technical screening beyond the calendar

Two years into the rollout, Akraya has completed roughly 30,000 interviews through Alex, averaging about 15,000 a year. The firm estimates those interviews have saved 15,000 hours of screening time.

“Alex expands our technical-screening capacity, saving time and improving quality.”
Sagar Nair, VP of Delivery & India Operations, Akraya

Delivery managers have been able to move toward higher-value recruiting work, and Akraya has avoided adding them at the same pace as screening volume. Their availability no longer determines how many technical conversations the team can conduct.

Around 30% of interviews take place after business hours, giving candidates across time zones a way to complete their screen without waiting for a delivery manager to become available.

Bring technical depth to a larger candidate pool

Akraya can now offer a structured technical interview beyond the strongest two or three candidates a delivery manager had time to assess. More candidates have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, and recruiters have a consistent interview record before deciding whom to advance.

Candidate experience has remained strong as use has grown, with a reported rating of 4.6 out of 5. Across roughly 30,000 interviews in two years, Alex has made deeper technical screening part of a larger-scale operation, while delivery managers can devote more of their time to work that requires their experience and judgment.