Joining AssemblyAI: Using AI in your application
We embrace AI's potential to transform job searching. The guidance below helps you use AI tools to showcase your skills, match your experience to our needs, and confidently navigate each step of your application.
How to collaborate with AI during our hiring process
We're advancing Speech AI technology to unlock entirely new applications. As builders who ship weekly and obsess over developer experience, we seek teammates who share our commitment to excellence and innovation. As a Speech AI company, we value candidates who are skilled at collaborating and using AI.
This guide outlines our approach to the use of AI during the application and interview process at AssemblyAI.
Navigating each stage of our hiring process
Initial Application Materials
When applying create your application materials (resume, cover letter, application questionn answers) independently, then us AI to refine them to highlight relevant experience. We value authenticity and want to understand your actual contributions to past projects. Focus on demonstrating technical depth, product sense, and alignment with our mission to democratize Speech AI.
Example use of AI: "Review my experience and identify which projects best demonstrate my ability to build scalable systems and ship quality products rapidly."
Take-home Assessments
Complete these independently unless we specify otherwise. These evaluations help us understand your problem-solving approach and technical capabilities. We'll explicitly state if external resources are permitted (such as: "The use of AI coding tools are allowed for this system design challenge").
Interview Preparation
Use AI to research AssemblyAI's technology, the speech AI market, and prepare thoughtful questions about our technical challenges. Understanding our Speech AI models, API architecture, and customer use cases will help you engage meaningfully during conversations.
Example use of AI: "Create practice interview questions around understanding AssemblyAI's technical stack, including their transcription models, streaming capabilities, and API design principles."
Live Interviews
These conversations showcase your real-time thinking—no external assistance unless we specify otherwise. We want to observe how you approach problems, communicate technical concepts, and collaborate with potential teammates. Please inform your recruiter early if you need any accommodations.
Guidelines for appropriate preparation
Your draft: "I worked on ML models at my previous company."
Enhanced version: "I optimized transformer models for production deployment, reducing inference latency by 40% while maintaining accuracy above 95%."
Good preparation: Study our technical blog, understand our architecture decisions, explore our API documentation.
Example AI prompt: "Can you provide a detailed explanation of the architectural innovations in AssemblyAI’s Universal-1 model, as outlined in its technical documentation or research papers, and explain how these innovations contribute to its performance in speech-to-text transcription?"
Inappropriate: Claiming expertise in speech processing without actual experience.
Better approach: Acknowledge your transferable skills and demonstrate eagerness to learn our domain
Using external assistance during interviews or technical evaluations when not explicitly permitted compromises the integrity of our evaluation process. This includes AI interview assistants (like Cluely or ChatGPT), meeting bots, receiving help from others off-camera, proxy interview services, or any unauthorized coding aids. If you need accessibility accommodations, please let us know in advance.
Why these AI usage guidelines matter
We embrace AI as a tool. As AI builders ourselves, we recognize AI's value for preparation and communication. We encourage smart AI usage where it enhances your ability to showcase genuine skills.
We evaluate human capability. During assessments and interviews, we need to understand YOUR problem-solving approach, technical depth, and cultural fit—not an AI's responses.
We value transparency. If you're unsure whether AI use is appropriate for a specific task, ask your recruiter. We respect honesty and clear communication.
Remember: We're hiring you, not your AI assistant. Use AI to prepare and present your best self, but ensure everything you share reflects your actual experience and capabilities.
How AssemblyAI uses AI for hiring
Our hiring team uses AI to refine job descriptions, develop interview questions, analyze hiring processes, and improve the overall candidate experience. We don't use automated screening for hiring decisions. We regularly review this AI guidance to align with changing AI capabilities and continually improve the candidate experience.