Luckily he is in a niche field at a company that is now legally required to have a member of his field as an employee. Does that help?
Sure, that helps.
Lots of companies tolerate that socially-stunted/assholish genius guy who gets stuff done. More prevalent in tech industries and for highly-technical positions, though.
Your buddy's role sounds more like specialized HR/personnel management position though, where office decorum and respect for the pecking order is paramount. Plus contractors are low in the corporate totem pole. So hard to say, really.