Partner Spotlight: Autodesk

Autodesk is a 3D Design, Engineering and Construction Software company based in San Rafael, CA with offices around the world, including a beautiful space in Portland’s Central Eastside. Since 2018, PDXWIT has partnered with this industry leader through events, sponsorships, job postings and more. As Autodesk continues to grow, PDXWIT is proud to support a company devoted to community, technology, and innovation while remaining committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Our team recently sat down with Autodesk’s Cyan Perry to learn about her career journey. “Creating inclusive opportunities through creativity and curiosity” is her LinkedIn tagline and her motto at work as a Community Engagement Specialist. A former mechanical engineering student, Cyan realized her talents and interests leaned towards community engagement. She first heard of Autodesk when attending a PDXWIT happy hour in 2019, and soon found her way there as an intern, growing from there. Now in her third year with Autodesk, she says her current role truly aligns with her passions, allowing her to work in tech––but not in a typical way. 

Why work at Autodesk? According to Cyan, Autodesk is more than a job. The company and its products provide “the ability to make anything,” empowering others to create.

“Creating inclusive opportunities through creativity and curiosity,” is her LinkedIn tagline and her motto at work as a Community Engagement Specialist.

PDXWIT and Autodesk have a shared goal of getting folks from marginalized backgrounds into thriving tech careers. Our most recent collaboration was a highly anticipated Autodesk career fair, held late last spring, which featured eighty open roles as well as opportunities for face time with Autodesk executives. 

A photo taken at the May 2022 Autodesk career fair.

Part of Cyan’s unique role as a connector is to work with the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE), where new entrepreneurs can get support as their companies grow. One of their programs is PIE Shop, where an up and coming company can utilize Autodesk’s Fusion 360 technology to support their business growth. The next PIE cohort will focus on creating solutions to address the needs of Portland’s houseless community, which underscores  Autodesk’s commitment not only to using their tools for social good, but also to providing opportunities for community engagement outside of work.

The Autodesk team wants to leave the world better than they found it. By innovating alongside their customers, and through sustainability programs, employee resource groups, and volunteer commitments, they have consistently focused on maintaining an inclusive future. Their financial support to the PDXWIT community as an Executive-level sponsor has helped us make ASL interpretation at events a standard, provide career development scholarships to those in need, and connect job seekers with opportunities. “We really enjoy the talent PDXWIT brings to us,” Cyan shares. “We claim to be diverse, and it’s because of orgs like PDXWIT that we can make that true.”

Francie King (she/her) is a word nerd, PNW lover, connector, wine drinker, marketer, and wonderer. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.