Snap has created a broad suite of initiatives to give people with non-traditional backgrounds the opportunity to work at Snap. A “non-traditional background” usually means someone without a 4 year degree from an elite university, or prior experience at other well-known tech companies. 

Snap Up (apprenticeship) 

To build more pathways into tech for underrepresented groups, in 2019 we started Snap Up, which connects with students who might not typically get the opportunity to work at a place like Snap, including those who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). A focal point is increasing regional diversity, such as including schools in the south, where tech opportunities may be less prevalent. In 2022, Snap and the University of Arizona launched Snap Cats, which provides internships and other opportunities for transfer students from community colleges in southern Arizona.

Snap Academies (apprenticeship)

Snap Academies are ambitious programs designed to help provide meaningful career opportunities to Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic/Latinx communities, and other groups who have been historically disconnected from equal opportunity in the tech sector such as women, community college students, and youth who may have experienced homelessness, foster care, or the juvenile justice system. Our four academies have custom Snap curricula to teach design, engineering, storytelling, and AR-focused Lenses. 

We also created a new initiative called Lens Learning, which teaches learners from underrepresented groups about augmented reality. Snap hosts challenges several times a year to provide foundational Lens Studio learning and project based learning. For example, one challenge involved students who got the opportunity to learn Lens Studio, interact with Snap team members, and then compete for a cash prize and/or interview for one of 15 Snap Lens Academy scholarships.

Supporting diverse legal talent  

To help diversify the legal profession, Snap’s Legal & Public Policy Team members volunteered with several organizations that focus on building access to law school education and careers with prestigious law firms for students from underrepresented groups. In partnership with the Legal Education Access Pipeline (LEAP), several of our in-house attorneys serve as mentors to underrepresented students applying to law school. Snap’s Legal & Public Policy Team also continued its participation in the Law in Tech Diversity Collaborative (LiTD)’s summer associate program, partnering with a major law firm to host a law student from an underrepresented group. 

Inclusive Engineering Onboarding Module 

In addition to building new pathways into tech, Snap is focusing on inclusion of diverse talent. For example, as part of the onboarding process, all new engineering hires go through our Inclusive Engineering Onboarding Module, which provides support and increases visibility of new hires to current engineering initiatives. It also provides engineers with resources such as our Inclusive By Design Principles and our Machine Learning Fairness Principles and Guidelines. This helps new engineers incorporate inclusion at very early stages of their journey at Snap — making DEI something that is baked into their work from the beginning.