Latest / The Diversity Career Podcast with Fexingo: Inclusion, Equity, and Underrepresented Professionals / How a Company Made Autism a Career Advantage in Engineering
Transcript
- Lucas: If we've helped you think through a career move or decision, you already know we don't run ads on this show. That's intentional — and listener support is what keeps it that way. More on that later. Luna: Good. Now, Lucas, you told me before we sat down that you wanted to talk about autism and engineering — but not the usual way. Lucas: Right. The typical story is 'company creates accommodation for autistic employees.' But there's a different angle: companies that actively recruit autistic professionals because they outperform neurotypical peers on certain tasks. I want to look at one program specifically: Siemens' Autism at Work initiative. Luna: Siemens started that in 2021, didn't they? I remember reading about a pilot in their software division. Lucas: Exactly. It began with twelve engineers in Germany, and as of this month, July 2026, they've hired over two hundred autistic professionals across software, automation, and even some finance roles. The key innovation wasn't the hiring target — it was how they redesigned the interview process. Luna: What did they change? Lucas: They replaced the standard behavioral interview — 'tell me about a time you led a team' — with a structured task-based assessment. Candidates get a real engineering problem, a quiet room, and four hours to work through it. No eye-contact pressure, no group dynamics, no small talk. The evaluation is purely on the output. Luna: That sounds like it would benefit a lot of candidates, not just autistic ones. I know plenty of people who freeze in traditional interviews. Lucas: That's exactly the point. And Siemens found that the revised process actually predicted job performance better than their old interviews did — for all hires. They kept the format even for non-autistic candidates in those divisions. Luna: So the program changed the hiring system itself. What about once they're in the door? Lucas: That's where the mentorship model matters. Each new hire gets two mentors: one technical, one social. The technical mentor focuses on code quality and domain knowledge. The social mentor helps with unwritten rules — how to ask for help, how to read meeting dynamics, when to push back on a deadline. It's not about fixing the autistic person; it's about translating the workplace culture. Luna: I've seen social mentorship programs fail at other companies because they felt paternalistic. How did Siemens avoid that? Lucas: They made the social mentors peers, not managers. And they trained them specifically on autistic communication styles — literal interpretation, preference for written over verbal instructions, difficulty with ambiguous requests. The mentors learned to say 'I need this by Thursday at 3 PM' instead of 'let's get this done soon.' Luna: Small shifts in language. Big difference. Lucas: Right. And the results are striking. Siemens published internal data showing that engineering teams with autistic members found forty percent more defects in code reviews than teams without them. That's not a feel-good statistic — that's a direct business advantage. Luna: Forty percent? That's huge. Especially in safety-critical systems like Siemens builds for industrial automation. Lucas: Exactly. One defect in a factory control system can cost millions. So the program isn't charity — it's talent strategy. They've also reported lower turnover for autistic engineers compared to their overall engineering workforce, which saves recruitment and training costs. Luna: I wonder if this framework would work outside of engineering. Could you apply it in, say, marketing or legal? Lucas: That's the open question. Siemens is experimenting with it in their patent-application review team, where pattern recognition and attention to detail are critical. Early results are promising, but it's harder in roles that require constant client-facing flexibility. The structured-task interview probably doesn't translate well to a sales role. Luna: Fair. But the mentorship model could. And the language-shifts definitely could. Lucas: Yeah. The broader lesson is that 'reasonable accommodation' is a low bar. Siemens aimed for something else: unlocking a competitive advantage by redesigning around a specific cognitive strength. That's a very different mindset. Luna: Let's talk about the cost. Did Siemens share how much the program cost to set up? Lucas: They did — roughly one point two million euros over three years for the pilot. That covered training for mentors, redesigning the interview process, and providing noise-canceling headphones and adjustable lighting in workspaces. But they estimate the return from reduced defects and lower turnover alone paid back in eighteen months. Luna: So a clear business case. That's what other companies need to see before they copy the model. Lucas: And some are copying it. Bosch and SAP have launched similar programs, though smaller. The German engineering sector is ahead of most industries here, partly because of labor shortages — they can't afford to overlook any talent pool. Luna: Before we go further — and I know this relates to the sustainability of shows like ours — Lucas, you mentioned at the top that this podcast is ad-free. I think it matters because we can talk about programs like Siemens' without worrying about sponsor conflicts. We're not selling anything. Lucas: That's exactly why we keep it that way. We don't run ads because we don't want anyone — listener or company — questioning our angle. If this show has helped you think about your own career or your team's hiring practices, and you want to support that independence, the simplest way is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: No pressure, ever. It just means we can keep digging into specific cases like this one without anyone pulling strings. Lucas: Alright. Back to Siemens. One thing I find interesting is how the program handles disclosure. Not every autistic employee wants to be public about it. Luna: That's a real tension. If you join through the Autism at Work program, your manager knows. But what about your teammates? Lucas: Siemens lets each employee decide. About half disclose to their immediate team, half don't. The mentors are trained to respect that boundary. The key is that the workplace adjustments — written instructions, quiet spaces, structured feedback — are available to anyone who requests them, regardless of diagnosis. Luna: So it's universal design, not just an autism program. Lucas: Exactly. That's the most scalable part. If you make your communication clearer and your workspace calmer, everyone benefits. The autistic employees just happen to need it most visibly. Luna: One criticism I've heard is that these programs risk stereotyping — assuming all autistic people are good at pattern recognition or detail work. Lucas: It's a valid concern. Not every autistic person is a math whiz or a coding prodigy. But Siemens doesn't assume that. Their assessment is individual — they test for the specific skills needed in the role. The program doesn't say 'autistic people are good at X.' It says 'let's find out what each candidate can do without the noise of a traditional interview.' Luna: That's a better framing. It's about removing barriers to performance, not assuming performance based on a label. Lucas: Right. And the data backs it up. Siemens found that the job performance of autistic hires varied just as much as any other group — but the average was higher in the areas they tested for. That's selection, not stereotyping. Luna: What's next for the program? Are they expanding beyond Germany? Lucas: Yes. They launched a pilot in the United States in 2024, at their digital industries division in Texas. And they're exploring partnerships with autistic-led advocacy groups to help design the next iteration. The goal is to have the program in all major regions by 2028. Luna: That's ambitious. But if the ROI holds, it makes sense. Lucas: And it forces a useful question for any employer: are we designing our hiring and workplace for the average candidate, or for the best candidate? If you optimize for the best, you often have to redesign systems that were built for conformity, not excellence. Luna: That's a good note to end on. Lucas, thanks for bringing this case. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And thanks to everyone listening. If you want to read Siemens' own report on the program, it's publicly available on their corporate website — search for 'Autism at Work Siemens.' Luna: And if you want to support this show staying ad-free, you know where to find us. Until next time.