Ten Companies Hiring Programmers Right Now

These are scary times. We are living through an unprecedented global pandemic. The number of unemployed Americans just swelled to six million. When this all ends, we will emerge into a different world than the one we left. None the less, while most companies lay people off, some are still hiring programmers. We could all use a break from bad news, so I decided to examine these companies to get some insight into what the (hopefully) thriving post-COVID-19 economy will look like.

Although no one knows what will happen, I have faith the companies hiring during this turbulent time will lead the way in creating a new, improved, and more efficient economy once we’ve come through this. Plus, if you need a new job, this list of companies is an excellent place to start your search. So without further ado, here are ten companies hiring programmers right now.

1. Zoom

While airlines, hotels, and other industries that rely on travel are hurting, companies focused on remote work are thriving. Before the pandemic, many companies were taking advantage of the trend toward remote work. With the virus forcing everyone to work from home, that gamble is now paying off. Zoom, a company that creates software for virtual meetings, is one of those companies. Unfortunately for Zoom, they are also getting a lot of negative attention right now due to privacy concerns. Elon Musk announced today he is banning employees at SpaceX from using their software. If that doesn’t bother, check out their open positions, because they are hiring.

2. Genies

Have you ever wanted to clone yourself? Now you can! Kind of… Genies Inc. is a company that allows you to “clone yourself” and claims to be creating the “next human race.” On their website, they say, “As the lines become blurred between our physical and digital worlds, every human will need an avatar to represent themselves.” With social distancing putting a strain on us all, solutions like personal avatars may play a role in helping us feel less isolated. And of course, they wouldn’t be on this list if they weren’t also hiring.

3. Tik Tok

If you aren’t familiar with Tik Tok yet, you will be soon. Tik Tok is an app similar to Instagram (but only for videos) poised to subject generation Z to unprecedented levels of humiliation when they grow up. With boredom at all-time highs, people are flocking to entertaining apps like Tik Tok. Tik Tok is growing so fast; it is surpassing Instagram’s growth. While Tik Tok is silly, humor and entertainment is something the world needs right now. Also, they are hiring!

4. Jobot

While programmers look well-positioned to weather a recession, many programmers at companies that don’t survive will need to find new jobs. Enter Jobot: an AI job matching engine. If ever there was a time for this company to shine, this is it. That is probably why they are hiring right now. Not a good fit? You can also use their matching engine to find other programming jobs.

5. Amazon

Regardless of what happens to the economy, Amazon isn’t going anywhere. With close to a trillion-dollar market cap, Amazon has the resources to keep investing in software throughout any economic downturn, and it looks like that is what they are doing, because they are still posting software engineering jobs. While Amazon gets a lot of hate, this pandemic makes me appreciate its platform. Life would be much harder right now if I couldn’t order supplies through Amazon, and I’m thankful it exists.

6. Zipline

COVED-19 is exposing the vulnerability of things we don’t ordinarily think about: like supply chains. Most of us take our ability to order a package and get it the next day for granted, but this pandemic is exposing how fragile our delivery systems are. Luckily, there are startups like Zipline, a startup that creates drones to deliver essential medical supplies like vaccines, working on solving this problem. If you want to join a company with an amazing mission making a difference, they are hiring!

7. Slack

A web app for chatting, Slack is another company benefiting from the sudden shift to remote work. I’m not the only one who thinks they have a bright future, Nancy Pelosi’s husband just started buying their stock. As a company, they are making the most of the world switching to remote work practically overnight by releasing new features, like calling. With all the new features they are adding to their product, they need engineers, which is why they have over 50 open engineering jobs listed on their website right now.

8. Perfect World Entertainment

Last week, the World Health Organization recommended everyone should stay home and play video games. That is good news for Perfect World Entertainment, a Chinese video game company that creates massively multiplayer online role-playing games like Magic Legends. With people around the world dealing with isolation and depression, this is an excellent opportunity for companies like Perfect World Entertainment to get new players to try massively multiplayer online role-playing games. And of course, they are hiring.

9. Netflix

When I think of companies benefiting from the economic shutdown, Netflix is at the top of the list. Everyone I know, including myself, is increasing their Netflixing during the shutdown. When I look back at this period, I will forever associate it with their hit show Tiger King, which gained popularity right when many states started quarantining. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should! Netflix is a data science pioneer, and with all that data, a dream job for many programmers, which is good news because they have open positions on their data science team.

10. Saykara

Saykara makes a product called Kara, which they describe as “the first fully ambient intelligent virtual assistant for the exam room.” With health care workers working around the clock to treat COVID-19 patients, they can use all of the help they can get, and this is Saykara’s time to shine. If you want to jump on board a company making a difference in the medical field, they are hiring.

COVID-19 is testing our national resolve. People are dying, healthcare workers are risking their lives every day, and many people are dealing with isolation and depression. I am optimistic, however, that we will get through this together and come out of it even stronger. Not only that, but looking at the companies on this list, I can imagine us emerging from this and building a new, improved economy. An economy where companies focus on products that help us feel less isolated, products that keep us entertained, products that help us work remotely, and products to solve challenges like strengthening our supply chains.

One positive thing that’s come from all of this is nature is rebounding while we are stuck inside. This disaster has shown the damage humans do to the environment in a way not possible before. While I certainly don’t want to be stuck inside forever, we do need to rethink the way we behave to stop negatively impacting the planet.

In other words, as a society, we need to stop going to so many places. I’m all for being active, and I can’t wait to get my social life back, and I don’t think we should rethink how often we see our friends and family. But do programmers need to commute to work? As a society, why do we tolerate multi-hour commutes for employees that could easily work from home? Do companies need to send so many people on “business trips” to handle issues a quick Zoom meeting could fix? These are the problems the companies on this list are addressing, and I hope they succeed in creating new norms.

Hopefully, this article brought about some optimism for you during a dark time. This is a difficult time for everyone, but we will get through it, and hopefully emerge stronger than before.

In the meantime, let’s use this disaster to rethink how we want our society to look when things return to normal.