J-1 Visa AI Data Engineer Jobs

AI Data Engineer roles in the United States are accessible to international professionals through J-1 visa sponsorship under the Trainee or Research Scholar program category. Designated sponsors issue your DS-2019, while the hiring company serves as your host organization. No lottery or annual cap applies.

Find J-1 Visa AI Data Engineer Jobs

Overview

Open Jobs30+
Work Type63% On-site
Top LocationSan Jose, CA
Most JobsTikTok

Showing 5 of 30+ AI Data Engineer jobs

Tufts University
Postdoctoral Scholar - Nutrient Profiling, Food Quality, and Artificial Intelligence
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Tufts University
Added 1w ago
Postdoctoral Scholar - Nutrient Profiling, Food Quality, and Artificial Intelligence
Tufts University
Boston, Massachusetts
Data Science & Analytics
Software Engineering
Healthcare Administration
Research & Academia
Data Science
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
$68k - $78k/yr
Hybrid
Doctorate
1,001-5,000

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Sb Energy Devco (Us)
Data Engineering & AI Enablement Intern 2026
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Sb Energy Devco (Us)
Added 3mo ago
Data Engineering & AI Enablement Intern 2026
Sb Energy Devco (Us)
Redwood City, California
Data Engineering
Software Engineering
Cloud & DevOps
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Cloud Engineering
$52k - $62k/yr
Hybrid
Associate's

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University of La Verne
Artificial Intelligence Student Engineer
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University of La Verne
Added 14mo ago
Artificial Intelligence Student Engineer
University of La Verne
La Verne, California
On-Site
None

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University of Virginia
Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Biology and Machine Learning
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University of Virginia
Added 1mo ago
Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Biology and Machine Learning
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Data Science & Analytics
Software Engineering
Laboratory Research
Biotech & Life Sciences
Data Science
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
ML (Machine Learning)
On-Site
Doctorate
10,000+

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Gettysburg College
Visiting Assistant Professor in Data Science
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Gettysburg College
Added 2mo ago
Visiting Assistant Professor in Data Science
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Teaching & Instruction
Higher Education
On-Site
Doctorate
201-500

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Tips for Finding J-1 Visa Sponsorship as an AI Data Engineer

Align your training plan to data engineering

Your DS-2019 requires a detailed training plan mapping your AI and data engineering objectives to specific activities. Document skills like pipeline architecture, ML model deployment, and cloud infrastructure to satisfy your designated sponsor's program requirements.

Verify your J-1 category before applying

If you're a current student, the Intern category applies. If you hold a degree and relevant professional experience, Trainee is the correct category. Applying under the wrong category delays your DS-2019 and can invalidate your host organization's offer.

Search for J-1-ready employers on Migrate Mate

Filter for AI Data Engineer roles at organizations with documented J-1 visa hosting history. Migrate Mate surfaces host employers who understand the DS-2019 process, reducing the risk of offers falling through because a company hasn't hosted J-1 visa exchange visitors before.

Confirm the two-year rule applies to you

The home-country residency requirement applies if your J-1 is funded by your government or if your field appears on the Exchange Visitor Skills List for your nationality. Confirm your status before accepting an offer, since this requirement affects any future H-1B visa or green card path.

Request an employer who files LCAs for data roles

Ask prospective host employers whether they've previously filed Labor Condition Applications through DOL for data engineering or ML positions. Prior LCA activity signals familiarity with prevailing wage obligations your designated sponsor will need confirmed in the training plan.

Cross-reference your role against O*NET before interviewing

Pull the AI Data Engineer occupation profile on O*NET and use its task and skill descriptors when writing your training objectives. Designated sponsors review whether your proposed activities match a recognized specialty occupation, and O*NET language strengthens that alignment.

AI Data Engineer J-1 Visa: Frequently Asked Questions

Which J-1 program category fits an AI Data Engineer role?

Most AI Data Engineers enter on the Trainee category, which covers professionals with a relevant degree and at least one year of experience outside the United States. Current students completing a degree in data science, computer science, or a related field may qualify under the Intern category instead. Research Scholar applies only to those conducting formal academic or scientific research at a university or research institute, not to industry engineering roles.

Who actually sponsors my J-1 visa as an AI Data Engineer?

Your visa sponsor is a U.S. Department of State-designated organization, not your employer. Organizations like IIE, Cultural Vistas, or CIEE issue your DS-2019, monitor your training plan compliance, and serve as the responsible party with the State Department. Your hiring company is the host organization. The host and the designated sponsor are two separate entities with separate legal responsibilities under the J-1 program.

How do I find host employers open to J-1 data engineering roles?

Migrate Mate lets you search for AI Data Engineer positions at U.S. companies that have previously hosted J-1 exchange visitors. This matters because many employers who haven't hosted before will decline offers once they learn they need to coordinate with a designated sponsor on training plans and compliance reporting. Targeting experienced host organizations significantly shortens the path from offer to DS-2019 issuance.

Does the two-year home residency requirement affect AI Data Engineers?

It can. The two-year home-country physical presence requirement applies if your J-1 is funded by your home government, if the U.S. government funds your program, or if your nationality and occupation appear on the Exchange Visitor Skills List published by the State Department. If the requirement applies, you'd need to either fulfill it or obtain a waiver before changing to an H-1B or immigrant visa status. Confirm your situation with your designated sponsor before accepting an offer.

What does the J-1 training plan need to include for a data engineering position?

Your designated sponsor requires a structured training plan, typically on a Form DS-7002, that breaks your J-1 period into phases with specific learning objectives, supervisory oversight, and measurable outcomes. For an AI Data Engineer role, this means documenting activities like building ETL pipelines, training and evaluating ML models, and working with specific cloud or data platforms. Vague descriptions of general software work are routinely rejected, so tie each phase to concrete technical deliverables.