These 10 Companies Hire Autistic Adults
In this post, I’ll share 10 companies that hire autistic adults. I’ll also mention which companies offer work from home jobs since many autistic people say they prefer to work from home, even in the post COVID era. There are additional companies that offer jobs for autistic people but are more local in nature.
Intro
According to the CDC there are almost 5.5 million autistic adults in the US, from which 44% have average to above-average intelligence.
And yet, 85% of autistic adults are either unemployed or underemployed (underemployed = earn less than what they should).
Studies show that employers who were knowledgeable about autism (that doesn’t really require an academic degree, it is rather intuitive and easy to learn), as well as enabled some adjustment to the hiring process and work environment such as more breaks flexibility, sensory-related adjustments and more, lead to successful employment of autistic adults. It’s even easier with today’s remote job culture.
Autistic adults also emphasize the importance of adjustments in the work environment. Working from home, for example, is more important for many of them than the actual job itself.
You can learn more about how autistic-friendly your company is using this tool, and see how easy it could be to become one.
While most autistic-friendly employers listed below are big corporations, it does not mean a lot of resources are required to hire your first autistic employee. There is definitely a lean way for small and medium businesses to hire their first autistic employee.
Meanwhile, we have assembled some well-known employers who hire autistic adults.
1) Microsoft
Type of roles:
Software engineers, data scientists, service engineers, marketing and finance.
Hiring process:
Phone interview, technical skills assessment, one-week in-person event, 3 interviews. Learn more about the hiring process here.
Remote option:
Doesn’t look like they have one.
2) SAP
Type of roles:
A broad range of roles (21) including engineering, human resource, and project management.
Hiring process:
Qualifying phone interview (phone or Skype interview), intro the SAP’s autism @ work program, one-week in-person soft skills training, 5 weeks autism @ work readiness, 45-minute interviews.
Remote option:
Doesn’t look like they have one.
3) E&Y
Type of roles:
Data analytics, quantitative analysis, robotics, and cyber security.
Hiring process:
One week virtual technical exercise, one-week in-person training.
Remote option:
Doesn’t look like they have one.
Type of roles:
Broad. Bankers, data scientists, fraud analysts, compliance analysts and more.
Hiring process:
Phone call as well as in-person meet and greet, 3 weeks soft skills training done by vendors and interviews with breaks.
Remote option:
Doesn’t look like they have one.
5) IBM
Type of roles:
Looks like QA and software testing.
Hiring process:
Not clear enough. They have partnered with Specialistserne for some the training and hiring process.
Remote option:
Doesn’t look like they have one.
6) Dell
Type of roles:
They have a summer paid internship in cyber-security, data analytics, IT, Audit / SOX Compliance, QE Engineering, Software Engineering, Supply Chain. In addition, there are full-time roles, probably in these domains as well.
Hiring process:
There is an initial screening process (they don’t mention the exact process, but it looks like it is managed by either HMEA (if you are in MA) or the Arc (if you are in Austin). Following the initial screening, there are two weeks skill assessments.
Remote option:
No.
7) Ultranauts
Provides onshore quality assurance and engineering services. According to them, 70% of their employees are neurodivergent.
Type of roles:
QA and software testing.
Hiring process:
Not clear enough. It looks like the process starters with a standard form submission.
Remote option:
Yes, there are remote options.
8) Aspiritech
A QA and software testing company employing autistic adults.
Type of roles:
QA and software testing.
Hiring process:
The application process starts with a simple form. If accepted, 2 weeks training takes place in Highland Park, Illinois, or Chicago’s West Loop.
Remote option:
No.
9) Daivergent
A startup that provides data labeling solutions for computer vision and AI/ML products through its pool of data specialists on the autism spectrum.
Type of roles:
Data labeling and annotations.
Hiring process:
There is screening assessment, qualifications task and onboarding. All online.
Remote option:
Yes
and…
10) Spectroomz
Spectroomz is a platform dedicated to remote (work from home) jobs for autistic adults. Companies can post SEO (search engine optimization) projects and autistic adults who took Spectroomz’s SEO online course are hired remotely to do these jobs. Peer5 is one company that hired Spectroomz for its SEO needs. In addition, Spectroomz sends other types of roles in its weekly newsletter.
Type of roles:
SEO, writers, designers, QA, admin support, developers.
Hiring process:
In order to receive SEO job opportunities, you’ll need to complete Spectroomz’s SEO online course.
Remote option:
Spectroomz only provides remote job opportunities.