Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s been a major increase in large companies hiring remote workers. Many of them are switching to a hybrid working model with blended teams, while others are completely eliminating offices and turning into fully remote companies. According to the SHRM, the number of companies that offer remote positions more than tripled from 1996 to 2016, and this number has been on a steady rise ever since.
With this growing rise in the number of solo workers, you might be wondering: What are the best remote companies to work for, and what perks do they offer? In this article, we’ll be talking about the top industries and job titles that are most open to freelance work. We’ll also list the top 15 companies that are hiring remotely, and talk about their prospects. Let’s dive right in!
Top industries hiring remote workers
The ability to work from anywhere, either in your own home, a cafe, or a shared coworking space, has greatly changed the dynamics of the business world. Here are the biggest industries that have adapted to this global change, with the most amount of remote work opportunities:
Marketing
Marketing is the biggest industry that’s hiring remote employees. This is because marketing has a very wide range that covers many positions, such as email marketing, brand/influencer marketing, social media management, copywriting, SEM, customer data analytics, and more.
Because of this wide array of marketing jobs, hiring remote talents allows businesses to outsource different roles and grow even faster. If you’re interested in joining the industry, you can definitely consider going remote.
Writing/editing
Whether for marketing purposes or not, writing is one of the most popular choices when it comes to freelance work. Since most projects are deadline-based and you can write them from wherever you are, this industry is a great fit for remote jobs.
HR/Customer service
Recruiting and hiring employees also is an industry suitable for remote work. Since almost all companies need people management, there are many remote positions available to become a recruiter, customer service operator, or an HR manager.
If you have certain soft skills, working in human resources or customer assistance is a great option–especially online. You can be assisting customers and potential customers with their questions, troubleshooting problems, and directing them to the necessary resources.
IT
With technology becoming a bigger part of our lives than ever, and more and more tech companies hiring remotely, IT or data science jobs are also among the top industries that hire remote workers.
Web/UX design
Similar to IT, web design is also among the top industries with companies hiring remotely. The flexibility and deadline-based contract options are a huge source of popularity for employees in this sector.
Finance
It might be surprising that financial consulting and accounting are steadily becoming one of the top industries when it comes to remote work. However, this industry also has started to integrate remote work opportunities which can help companies grow faster.
Top job titles for remote work
Now that you know about the top industries that offer fully remote jobs, you can evaluate the exact positions and job titles on the radar of companies hiring remotely.These are the top jobs and positions that are fit for remote workers:
- Marketing manager
- Social media marketer
- Sales representative
- Copywriter/Blogger/Content writer/Editor
- Web/UX designer
- Teacher
- Virtual assistant
- Front-end developer
- Recruiter
- HR/Customer service representative
- Graphic designer
- Financial consultant/advisor
- Accountant
- Engineer
15 companies that hire remote employees
Protocol Labs
Protocol Labs is a computer software company founded in 2014. They have a goal of creating technological tools (like protocols and other services) to improve the internet as a whole. As a result, they’ve decided to build a fully online team, one of the very few among our list of companies hiring remotely.
- Location(s): The firm is based in San Francisco, but they have a distributed team. All employees work remotely and the entire team communication is conducted online.
- Company size: 300+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote
- Industry & positions: As a tech company, Protocol Labs offers related positions in the fields of engineering, product management, marketing, and more.
- Perks for remote workers: Parental leave, unlimited time off, and retirement plan contributions. There are also healthcare and dental packages for US-based employees only.
Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit behind Wikipedia, the free and user-editing-friendly encyclopedia. They aim to increase accessibility towards knowledge, and offer all-remote positions.
- Location(s): San Francisco-based
- Company size: 900+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): All positions, contract-based or otherwise, are remote.
- Industry & positions: A wide range of positions related to the foundation, from software engineering to IT, product management, and more.
- Perks for remote workers: Equal opportunity employment guarantee
Cactus Communications
Started as a publishing firm for Asians to overcome the language barrier in 2002, Cactus Communications is now a global tech company. They offer editorial, training, translation, science engagement, etc. solutions to organizations and independent researchers to help them get internationally published.
- Location(s): Based in Mumbai, with additional offices in London, Princeton, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
- Company size: 2,700+ employees listed on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Remote positions are at the forefront, with company offices around the world that aren’t mandatory to use. They also have freelance, internship, and contract-based offers in addition to regular employment options.
- Industry & positions: With a main focus on academic research and development, most available positions are related to data engineering, IT, HR, marketing, writing & reviewing, and editing.
Airbnb
You’ve probably heard of Airbnb, the world’s largest rental service that was founded in 2008. They’re among the most well-known companies hiring remotely worldwide.
In April 2022, citing the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company switched to a completely remote work system. They also announced that employee compensation wouldn’t change, as long as they had a permanent address within the country they were hired in.
- Location(s): San Francisco-based, with 23 offices around the world.
- Company size: 5000+ workers as of 2023
- Working model(s): Fully remote, ability to use the corporate offices in 15 countries, with travel flexibility
- Industry & positions: Data science/analytics, engineering, finance, customer experience, HR, sales, marketing, legal, etc.
Dell Technologies
The well-known tech company Dell has been making progress towards a more remote-friendly and flexible workplace environment since 2009.By placing emphasis on a better work-life balance, they recently launched their Connected Workplace Program, which allows all employees to work from home. Moving forward, they expect more than 60% of all their worldwide employees to be mainly working from home.
- Location(s): With a headquarters in Texas, they have stores and offices all around the world.
- Company size: Over 153,000 employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote, hybrid, or in-office options
- Industry & positions: As a tech company, they offer a high variety of engineering, customer support, and sales/marketing roles.
- Perks for remote workers: Flexible working arrangements, accessibility support
Broadpath
Broadpath Solutions is an outsourcing company founded in 2008. With a fully remote team, they provide a set of skilled professionals to businesses that need help with jobs such as customer relations, sales, office management, etc.
- Location(s): The headquarters is in Tucson, Arizona.
- Company size: 1,000+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): 100% remote business model, with seasonal and full-time options available
- Industry & positions: Sales management, customer service, support, accountant, etc.
- Perks for remote workers: Full remote work support, health insurance, retirement/401K support
Mozilla
Mozilla Organization, founded in 2003, is the collective behind the well-known web browser Mozilla Firefox, and other products like Pocket. Their foundation aims to create an open-source internet experience that’s secure and accessible for everyone.After the pandemic, nearly half of all Mozilla employees have started working from home full-time. They proudly claim to provide a hybrid and inclusive workspace.
- Location(s): They have seven offices altogether, with two in the US.
- Company size: Over 1,500 employees listed on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote, hybrid, and fully in-person options available
- Industry & positions: Mainly engineering, software, and product design positions, with other options like HR, data analysis, etc.
- Perks for remote workers: Flexibility, extended parental leave, health insurance, wellness and professional development reimbursements, hardware & software support
Study.com
Study.com is one of the largest providers of educational content online, with a range of courses from math to history. You can become a one-on-one tutor if you join their professional team, or choose from their flexible online jobs for course content preparation & editing.
- Company size: 2,200+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote
- Industry & positions: Mainly positions in content writing, reviewing, and editing. Other options include practice question writing, quiz preparation, homework help, etc.
- Perks for remote workers: Freelance and flexible contracts
Liveops
Another US-based company option is Liveops, a virtual communications center that employs multiple communication methods: Calls, emailing, and online chatting. They also offer disaster recovery via online workforce continuity options.
- Location(s): Based in Arizona
- Company size: 1700+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote work as independent contractors
- Industry & positions: Consulting and virtual agent roles in many different industries, such as healthcare, security, retail, communications, etc.
- Perks for remote workers: Health insurance coverage, retirement plan, disability arrangements, unlimited vacation days, tuition reimbursement, charitable gift matching.
Foundever
The business outsourcing and consulting company Foundever (formerly SYKES) was founded in 1977 in Tampa, Florida. They provide assistance mostly in IT and customer service-related areas.
- Location(s): 54 offices around the US
- Company size: About 20,000 employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Remote and in-person options
- Industry & positions: Customer service, account manager, team leader and trainer.
- Perks for remote workers: Health insurance, paid time off, certain discounts, wellness programs, tuition assistance, 401k, etc.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a leading resource, tool, and software provider that specializes in the fields of marketing and sales. In growing their flexibility and accessibility, they’ve created three different teams with different working options: @home, @flex, and @office.
- Location(s): Founded in Massachusetts, with 10 worldwide offices
- Company size: 8,700+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote, face-to-face, and hybrid options
- Industry & positions: Analysis, customer service, content designing & writing, HR and more
- Perks for remote workers: All necessary work equipment, fair compensation guarantee
GitHub
GitHub is the leading software developer platform that’s used by millions of people around the world. It’s one of the remote-first companies hiring for a variety of remote positions.
- Location(s): 2 offices in San Francisco and Amsterdam, all other operations are conducted remotely.
- Company size: 4,800+ employees listed on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Remote-first company, with in-office options available
- Industry & positions: Engineering, HR, marketing, design, sales, legal, and similar positions are available.
- Perks for remote workers: Diverse and non-discriminatory hiring, home office and wellness reimbursement packages, yearly budget for individual development, matching gifts policy for donations
SAP
The software development company SAP ranks high among the list of top companies hiring remotely, since they’re a very large firm with many remote job opportunities available.
- Location(s): Over 78 locations worldwide
- Company size: 127,000+ employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): In-person, remote, and hybrid options
- Industry & positions: Sales, marketing, engineering, consulting, HR, finance, corporate operations, etc.
- Perks for remote workers: Healthcare & insurance, savings plan, wellness programs, additional support for working parents and transgender healthcare
iTutor
iTutor, as the name suggests, is an e-learning provider with options for full-time virtual teaching, curriculum prep, creating a customized schedule, extra resources, and more. One thing to consider is that you have to have an active US-based teaching certification in order to be approved.
- Location(s): US-based teachers only
- Company size: 286 active employees on LinkedIn
- Working model(s): Fully remote
- Industry & positions: Teaching, tutoring
- Perks for remote workers: Fully flexible work schedule
TranscribeMe
TranscribeMe is among the most popular transcription and translation portals on the market. Once you pass their test, you can become a professional on the platform and work freelance in your respective fields. The entire process is conducted remotely.
- Location(s): Founded in San Francisco, California.
- Company size: 830 employees on LinkedIn (keep in mind that most are freelancers)
- Working model(s): Fully remote
- Industry & positions: Transcription, translation, data annotation
Remote work is the future
…and almost all companies are aware of this. Whether they operate within the industries featured here or not, they’ll have to make the switch and hire remote workers eventually. In the meantime, browsing our list of companies hiring remotely can be a great start towards your remote working career. Good luck!
Keep on the lookout for remote working and freelancing news on the Ruul Blog, and also follow us on LinkedIn for more updates on working in the remote reality.
