OPT AI Software Developer Jobs
AI Software Developer jobs are among the most actively sponsored roles for F-1 OPT students, with employers across tech, healthcare, and finance regularly filing H-1B visa petitions for qualified candidates. Your 12-month OPT period, extendable to 36 months with a STEM extension, gives you time to land a role and pursue long-term sponsorship.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
We offer a flexible working policy that supports a healthy balance between personal and professional well-being. This role requires in-office presence on Tuesdays & Thursdays to collaborate, connect, and learn from peers - while also maintaining the flexibility for meaningful work-life balance.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Being a Staff AI Software Engineer at iManage Means…
You are passionate about owning the full lifecycle of AI systems, from training and fine-tuning models to deploying and scaling them in production. You thrive at the intersection of machine learning, data science, and infrastructure engineering, and you bring both analytical accuracy and hands-on technical depth to everything you build. You will work within the Applied AI team, collaborating with engineers, data scientists, and product stakeholders to build the AI capabilities that power iManage’s enterprise work platform including Ask iManage, our generative AI document assistant, as well as advanced document classification, extraction, and NLP-driven features that directly impact how knowledge workers search, organize, and understand their most critical information. You will tackle some of the most interesting problems in applying large language models and NLP at scale to enterprise documents and workflows.
You are a self-starter who identifies problems before being asked, coordinates across teams, and drives solutions to completion. You think carefully about cost, performance, and reliability at scale as well as communicate with clarity and accountability at every step.
Responsibilities
iM Responsible For...
- Owning the end-to-end ML lifecycle for AI systems from prototype to production, from model development and evaluation to scalable application design and production serving for NLP, genAI document intelligence, and agentic system use cases
- Collaborating with product and business stakeholders to translate requirements into viable technical solutions
- Deploying and optimizing ML/AI systems on GPUs and Kubernetes-based cloud infrastructure, including AKS or equivalent platforms, while balancing trade-offs across scalability, latency, performance, operational complexity, and cost efficiency
- Applying modern engineering practices for production AI systems, including monitoring, observability, integration testing, containerized services, CI/CD pipelines, model/version tracking, and release governance
- Driving architectural decisions for AI systems and mentoring team members to foster a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
iM Qualified Because I Have…
- A Bachelor's, Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, or a related field
- The ability to work collaboratively across teams, communicate with precision, and take ownership from prototype to production
- 4+ years of experience in ML/AI engineering or software engineering with 3+ years of experience building and shipping in NLP and LLM systems into productions
- Deep proficiency in Python and modern AI frameworks (i.e., PyTorch and Hugging Face)
- Deep understanding of ML fundamentals including hands-on experience with both traditional ML/NLP and modern genAI/transformer architectures
- Demonstrated hands-on experience in fine-tuning language models and deploying them to production
- Experience with GPU optimization for both training and inference
- Experience with k8s deployment on cloud infrastructure (Azure/AWS/GCP) to optimize systems for scalability, latency, performance, operational complexity, and cost efficiency
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Bonus Points If I Have...
- Experience in knowledge graph and multimodal LLMs
- Experience with distributed training (i.e., Pytorch distributed, Ray) and inference optimization framework (i.e., vLLM, SGLang)
- Experience with agentic engineering (agent harness, agent memory) and orchestration framework like LangChain/LlamaIndex, or similar tools
WHAT WE OFFER
iM Getting To…
- Join a supportive, experienced team with an inclusive, encouraging, and vibrant culture
- Have flexible work hours that allow me to balance my ‘me time’ with my work commitments
- Collaborate in a modern open plan workspace, with a gaming area, free snacks, drinks and regular social events
- Focus on impactful work, solving complex, real challenges utilizing the latest technologies and protocols
- Own my career path with our internal development framework. Ask us more about this!
- Learn new skills and earn certifications with access to unlimited courses in LinkedIn Learning
- Join an innovative, industry leading SaaS company that is continuing to grow & scale!
iManage Is Supporting Me By...
- Creating an inclusive environment where I can help shape the culture not just by fitting in, but by adding to it
- Providing a market competitive salary that is applied through a consistent process, equitable for all our employees, and regularly reviewed based on industry data
- Rewarding me with an annual performance-based bonus
- Offering comprehensive Health/Vision/Dental/Life Insurance, and a 401k Retirement Savings Plan with a company match up to 4%
- Giving access to HealthJoy, a healthcare concierge service, to help me maximize my health benefits
- Granting enhanced leave for expecting parents; 20 weeks 100% paid for primary leave, and 10 weeks 100% paid for secondary leave
- Providing me with a flexible time off policy to take the time off that I need. Be it for vacation, volunteering, celebrating holidays, spending time with family, or simply taking time to recharge and reset
- Caring for my mental health and well-being with multiple company wellness days and free access to the Healthy Minds app for mindfulness, meditation and more
COMPENSATION
The overall US annual base salary range for this position is $180,000–$220,000. Individual compensation for each candidate depends on factors such as qualifications, experience, and candidate location. This range does not include additional forms of compensation, such as bonuses, or benefits. Your recruiter will provide further details about the offer range, incentives, and overall compensation during the hiring process.
ABOUT iManage…
iManage is dedicated to Making Knowledge WorkTM. Over one million professionals across 65+ countries rely on our intelligent, cloud-enabled, secure knowledge work platform to uncover and activate the knowledge that exists inside their business content and communications.
We are continuously innovating to solve the most complex professional challenges and enable better business outcomes; our work is not always easy but it is ambitious and rewarding.
So we’re looking for people who love a challenge. People who are happiest when they’re solving problems and collaborating with the industry’s best and brightest. That’s the iManage way. It’s how we do things that might appear impossible. How we develop our employees’ strengths and unlock their potential. How we find meaning in everything we do.
Whoever you are, whatever you do, however you work. Make it mean something at iManage.
iManage provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, 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 or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
INTRODUCTION
We offer a flexible working policy that supports a healthy balance between personal and professional well-being. This role requires in-office presence on Tuesdays & Thursdays to collaborate, connect, and learn from peers - while also maintaining the flexibility for meaningful work-life balance.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Being a Staff AI Software Engineer at iManage Means…
You are passionate about owning the full lifecycle of AI systems, from training and fine-tuning models to deploying and scaling them in production. You thrive at the intersection of machine learning, data science, and infrastructure engineering, and you bring both analytical accuracy and hands-on technical depth to everything you build. You will work within the Applied AI team, collaborating with engineers, data scientists, and product stakeholders to build the AI capabilities that power iManage’s enterprise work platform including Ask iManage, our generative AI document assistant, as well as advanced document classification, extraction, and NLP-driven features that directly impact how knowledge workers search, organize, and understand their most critical information. You will tackle some of the most interesting problems in applying large language models and NLP at scale to enterprise documents and workflows.
You are a self-starter who identifies problems before being asked, coordinates across teams, and drives solutions to completion. You think carefully about cost, performance, and reliability at scale as well as communicate with clarity and accountability at every step.
Responsibilities
iM Responsible For...
- Owning the end-to-end ML lifecycle for AI systems from prototype to production, from model development and evaluation to scalable application design and production serving for NLP, genAI document intelligence, and agentic system use cases
- Collaborating with product and business stakeholders to translate requirements into viable technical solutions
- Deploying and optimizing ML/AI systems on GPUs and Kubernetes-based cloud infrastructure, including AKS or equivalent platforms, while balancing trade-offs across scalability, latency, performance, operational complexity, and cost efficiency
- Applying modern engineering practices for production AI systems, including monitoring, observability, integration testing, containerized services, CI/CD pipelines, model/version tracking, and release governance
- Driving architectural decisions for AI systems and mentoring team members to foster a culture of innovation and knowledge sharing
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
iM Qualified Because I Have…
- A Bachelor's, Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Statistics, or a related field
- The ability to work collaboratively across teams, communicate with precision, and take ownership from prototype to production
- 4+ years of experience in ML/AI engineering or software engineering with 3+ years of experience building and shipping in NLP and LLM systems into productions
- Deep proficiency in Python and modern AI frameworks (i.e., PyTorch and Hugging Face)
- Deep understanding of ML fundamentals including hands-on experience with both traditional ML/NLP and modern genAI/transformer architectures
- Demonstrated hands-on experience in fine-tuning language models and deploying them to production
- Experience with GPU optimization for both training and inference
- Experience with k8s deployment on cloud infrastructure (Azure/AWS/GCP) to optimize systems for scalability, latency, performance, operational complexity, and cost efficiency
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Bonus Points If I Have...
- Experience in knowledge graph and multimodal LLMs
- Experience with distributed training (i.e., Pytorch distributed, Ray) and inference optimization framework (i.e., vLLM, SGLang)
- Experience with agentic engineering (agent harness, agent memory) and orchestration framework like LangChain/LlamaIndex, or similar tools
WHAT WE OFFER
iM Getting To…
- Join a supportive, experienced team with an inclusive, encouraging, and vibrant culture
- Have flexible work hours that allow me to balance my ‘me time’ with my work commitments
- Collaborate in a modern open plan workspace, with a gaming area, free snacks, drinks and regular social events
- Focus on impactful work, solving complex, real challenges utilizing the latest technologies and protocols
- Own my career path with our internal development framework. Ask us more about this!
- Learn new skills and earn certifications with access to unlimited courses in LinkedIn Learning
- Join an innovative, industry leading SaaS company that is continuing to grow & scale!
iManage Is Supporting Me By...
- Creating an inclusive environment where I can help shape the culture not just by fitting in, but by adding to it
- Providing a market competitive salary that is applied through a consistent process, equitable for all our employees, and regularly reviewed based on industry data
- Rewarding me with an annual performance-based bonus
- Offering comprehensive Health/Vision/Dental/Life Insurance, and a 401k Retirement Savings Plan with a company match up to 4%
- Giving access to HealthJoy, a healthcare concierge service, to help me maximize my health benefits
- Granting enhanced leave for expecting parents; 20 weeks 100% paid for primary leave, and 10 weeks 100% paid for secondary leave
- Providing me with a flexible time off policy to take the time off that I need. Be it for vacation, volunteering, celebrating holidays, spending time with family, or simply taking time to recharge and reset
- Caring for my mental health and well-being with multiple company wellness days and free access to the Healthy Minds app for mindfulness, meditation and more
COMPENSATION
The overall US annual base salary range for this position is $180,000–$220,000. Individual compensation for each candidate depends on factors such as qualifications, experience, and candidate location. This range does not include additional forms of compensation, such as bonuses, or benefits. Your recruiter will provide further details about the offer range, incentives, and overall compensation during the hiring process.
ABOUT iManage…
iManage is dedicated to Making Knowledge WorkTM. Over one million professionals across 65+ countries rely on our intelligent, cloud-enabled, secure knowledge work platform to uncover and activate the knowledge that exists inside their business content and communications.
We are continuously innovating to solve the most complex professional challenges and enable better business outcomes; our work is not always easy but it is ambitious and rewarding.
So we’re looking for people who love a challenge. People who are happiest when they’re solving problems and collaborating with the industry’s best and brightest. That’s the iManage way. It’s how we do things that might appear impossible. How we develop our employees’ strengths and unlock their potential. How we find meaning in everything we do.
Whoever you are, whatever you do, however you work. Make it mean something at iManage.
iManage provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, 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 or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
See all 358+ OPT AI Software Developer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT AI Software Developer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as an AI Software Developer
Filter for STEM OPT-eligible employers
Target companies with an active E-Verify enrollment, which is required for the 24-month STEM extension. Without E-Verify, you can only work for 12 months, cutting your runway to find a sponsored position significantly short.
Lead with your AI specialization
Hiring managers distinguish between general software engineers and AI specialists. Specify your focus area, whether it's LLMs, computer vision, or MLOps, in your resume headline and cover letter so recruiters can immediately assess fit.
Confirm the role qualifies under your degree
OPT employment must be directly related to your field of study. An AI Software Developer role is a strong match for CS, data science, or electrical engineering degrees. Document the connection clearly in case your DSO or employer asks.
Ask about H-1B sponsorship before final rounds
Raise sponsorship during the offer stage, not after signing. Ask specifically whether the company has sponsored H-1B visa petitions before and whether this role qualifies. Vague answers now create serious problems when your OPT expires.
Build a portfolio of deployed AI work
Employers sponsoring OPT candidates want evidence of production-ready skills. GitHub repositories with real datasets, model benchmarks, and API integrations carry more weight than coursework projects in technical screening rounds.
Time your STEM extension application carefully
File your STEM OPT extension request at least 90 days before your current EAD expires. Your employer must sign a formal training plan. Starting this process late puts your work authorization at risk during active job searches.
AI Software Developer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Does an AI Software Developer role qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, in most cases. If your degree is in computer science, data science, electrical engineering, or a related STEM field, and the role involves building or researching AI systems, it qualifies. The job must be directly related to your degree, and your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify and co-sign a formal training plan with your DSO.
How do I find AI Software Developer jobs that sponsor OPT and H-1B?
Migrate Mate filters specifically for employers open to OPT and visa sponsorship, so you are not wasting applications on companies that will not sponsor. Standard job boards mix sponsored and non-sponsored roles with no way to filter. For international students on a tight OPT clock, that distinction matters more than anything else in your search.
Can I work on AI projects for a startup on OPT?
Yes, but the startup must pay you as a W-2 employee and meet the standard OPT employment requirements. The role must relate to your degree, and you cannot work as an independent contractor unless you qualify for self-employment OPT, which requires you to have a legitimate business. Most early-stage startups can satisfy these requirements as long as they are paying wages.
What if my AI Software Developer job involves both research and product work?
That is common in this field and generally not a problem for OPT purposes. What matters is that the overall role connects to your degree field, not that every task is purely technical. Document the research components in your offer letter or job description, as this strengthens your case for the STEM extension and helps your DSO confirm eligibility.
How soon should I start looking for AI Software Developer jobs on OPT?
Start at least three to four months before your program end date. USCIS can take up to 90 days to process an OPT EAD, and you cannot work until you receive it. For roles with lengthy technical interview processes, common in AI engineering, starting early gives you enough runway to complete multiple rounds before your authorization window opens.