Salas O'Brien OPT Eligible Jobs USA
Salas O'Brien hires OPT students across engineering, consulting, and technical services roles, making it a notable employer for F-1 graduates entering the built environment and infrastructure sectors. The firm supports the OPT-to-H-1B visa transition, giving international students a realistic path toward long-term U.S. employment.
See All Salas O'Brien JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 41+ Salas O'Brien OPT Eligible Jobs USA


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?


Have you applied for this role?
See all 41+ Salas O'Brien OPT Eligible Jobs USA
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Salas O'Brien OPT Eligible Jobs USA.
Get Access To All Jobs
Mechanical Engineer
At Salas O’Brien we tell our clients that we’re engineered for impact. This passion for making a difference applies just as much to our team as it does to our projects. That’s why we’re committed to living our values every day: inspiring, achieving, and connecting as shared owners of our success with a focus on a sustainable future.
Building for the long-term means that all of our team members can expect to work on amazing projects with a people-first approach to problem solving. It also means that each member of our team has truly limitless potential to build a unique, meaningful, and high-impact career—and they’ll receive great total rewards along the way.
About us:
Founded in 1975, Salas O’Brien is an employee-owned engineering and professional services firm focused on achieving impact for our clients, our team, and the world. We know that tomorrow’s requirements are today’s opportunities, and we are here to design lasting solutions for pressing challenges.
We work across a variety of industries providing integrated engineering and consulting services. Our specialized experience includes design for data centers, healthcare, science and technology, high-rise buildings, clean energy, education, and other building types as well as structural and building sciences, infrastructure asset management, advanced robotics, and more.
Job Summary:
The Mechanical Engineer serves to provide technical leadership for the creation of construction drawings and specifications, existing system studies and master planning efforts. Qualified candidates will meet with clients, project teams, code officials, contractors, and others to address mechanical issues to develop effective working relationships. The project clientele includes higher education, commercial, health care, and industrial facilities.
In this role, you will:
- Develop the HVAC systems design of a given project based on scope of work and/or client RFPs.
- Provide engineering design, evaluation and planning of mechanical systems for healthcare, science and technology, education, multi-family and commercial projects.
- Perform Load/Energy calculations with software such as Trane 3D Plus and IES.
- Develop reports/studies.
- Write/edit project specifications.
- Conduct existing building surveys and documentation of existing HVAC systems.
- Provide construction administration services.
You will be a great fit if:
- You have a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
- You possess a Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- You have an LEED or similar sustainable design certification / experience.
- You have 3 to 10 years of design experience.
- You are knowledgeable in the design of HVAC systems.
- You have knowledge and understanding of codes, standards, and design guidelines.
- You have experience as a project manager leading a multi-discipline design team.
- You have an excellent work ethic and attitude.
Skills/abilities:
- Good communication skills, combined with organizational skills, the ability to plan, balance and prioritize work.
- Ability to lead and work as a team.
- Proficiency in Auto CAD, Revit, and MS Office.
- Ability to travel.
Location: Greenwood Village, CO
Travel: 10%
Compensation & Benefits:
The expected base salary range for this role is $85,000 - $120,000 USD per year. Actual compensation will be determined based on a number of factors including skills, experience, qualifications, and location.
This role is also eligible for performance-based bonuses and a comprehensive U.S. based benefits package, including:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) with company match
- Paid time off and company holidays
- Wellness programs and employee assistance resources
- Professional development support
For more information, visit our full benefits overview here.
Equal Opportunity Employment Statement
Salas O’Brien provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/provincial, or local laws. Salas O’Brien will accommodate the disability-related needs of applicants as required by law.
Job Roles at Salas O'Brien
See all 41+ Salas O'Brien Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Salas O'Brien roles.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Salas O'Brien OPT Eligible Jobs USA
Align your degree to billable roles
Salas O'Brien bills clients by discipline, so your degree field needs to map directly to a revenue-generating practice area like electrical engineering or mechanical systems. Review job descriptions for the phrase 'degree in a related field' and confirm your major qualifies before applying.
Verify E-Verify enrollment before accepting offers
STEM OPT's 24-month extension requires your employer to be enrolled in E-Verify. Confirm Salas O'Brien's enrollment status with the recruiter before your OPT EAD start date, because losing STEM eligibility mid-employment restarts your authorization timeline and affects your H-1B cap window.
Target project-based teams not corporate functions
Consulting firms like Salas O'Brien hire OPT students primarily into client-facing, project delivery roles rather than internal corporate functions like HR or finance. Focus your search on engineering, commissioning, and technical consulting openings, where OPT hiring is most consistent across office locations.
Use Migrate Mate to find active OPT roles
Searching broadly across job boards wastes your limited OPT window. Migrate Mate filters roles by employers with confirmed visa hiring history in consulting and engineering, so you spend your time on applications where OPT students have actually been hired rather than guessing from job descriptions.
Time your application around your OPT start date
Salas O'Brien's project staffing cycles mean hiring managers prefer candidates who can start within 30 to 60 days of an offer. Apply 90 days before your anticipated OPT EAD start date so your authorization window aligns with when the team actually needs headcount on active projects.
Prepare your H-1B transition conversation early
Raise the H-1B sponsorship question during the offer stage, not after you've started. Salas O'Brien has sponsored H-1B visas, but internal approval processes take time. Knowing the firm's timeline before you accept lets you plan around the April registration window without surprises in your second year.
Salas O'Brien OPT Eligibility: Frequently Asked Questions
Does Salas O'Brien sponsor OPT visas?
Salas O'Brien hires students who already hold an OPT EAD issued by USCIS. The company does not petition for OPT itself, because OPT is work authorization granted directly to you as an F-1 student. What matters is that Salas O'Brien is enrolled in E-Verify, which is required if you plan to use the 24-month STEM OPT extension.
Which roles at Salas O'Brien typically hire OPT students?
OPT hiring at Salas O'Brien is most consistent in technical and engineering disciplines, including electrical, mechanical, and systems engineering roles tied to project delivery. These are billable positions where your degree field directly supports client work. Corporate support functions are less likely to have open OPT-eligible headcount at any given time.
How do I confirm Salas O'Brien will support my STEM OPT extension?
Ask the recruiter directly whether Salas O'Brien is enrolled in E-Verify before you accept an offer. Your DSO also needs a signed training plan from your employer to process the STEM OPT extension through SEVIS. Getting written confirmation early avoids delays if you need to extend authorization before your initial OPT period expires.
How do I find open OPT roles at Salas O'Brien?
Migrate Mate lets you filter job listings by employers with confirmed OPT and H-1B hiring history in consulting and engineering. Searching there narrows your applications to roles where OPT candidates have realistically been hired at firms like Salas O'Brien, rather than relying on job descriptions that rarely mention visa eligibility explicitly.
Does Salas O'Brien sponsor H-1B after OPT?
Salas O'Brien has sponsored H-1B visas, making it a viable path for OPT students seeking long-term status. H-1B sponsorship is a separate process from OPT and requires the employer to file a petition with USCIS. Raise this question during the offer stage so you understand the firm's internal approval process before the April H-1B registration window arrives.
How does Salas O'Brien hire OPT students?
OPT is work authorization granted directly to F-1 students after graduation — no employer petition is required. Salas O'Brien can hire OPT students as soon as their EAD card is approved. STEM degree holders can extend OPT by 24 months when their employer is enrolled in E-Verify. Most companies that hire OPT students also support the transition to H-1B when the student's OPT period is ending. Check Salas O'Brien's individual postings on Migrate Mate to confirm OPT acceptance per role.