OPT Arc Welder Jobs
Arc Welder jobs on OPT are available across manufacturing, construction, and aerospace sectors, with most roles classified under SOC code 51-4121. Your OPT authorization must match your degree field, typically materials science, welding technology, or mechanical engineering, and STEM OPT extensions may apply for qualifying programs.
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Get Access To All JobsAbout Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.
Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.
Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:
- Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
- Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.
More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.
About the position
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Research Associate to join the Functional Genomics team inside the Genome Engineering Technology Center at the Arc Institute. This position will directly support our efforts of high-throughput interrogation of mammalian genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes with rich multi-omic readouts. You will play a critical role in the Virtual Cell Initiative, which aims to create the first foundational model that makes accurate predictions of cellular states and their response to intervention. You will also have the opportunity to partner closely with pioneering labs that have developed the fundamental toolbox for genome engineering and functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases.
The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience and proficient skills in mammalian cell culture, functional genomic screens, and NGS library preparation, and familiarity with various other cellular and molecular techniques. They must also demonstrate the ability to independently execute and troubleshoot complex workflows and protocols with an outstanding attention to detail. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and curious researcher interested in leveraging cutting-edge functional genomic technologies to drive innovative scientific discoveries.
About you
- You are highly motivated and passionate about applying cutting-edge functional genomics techniques to enable scientific discoveries.
- You are diligent, detail oriented, adaptable, and excel at troubleshooting.
- You are committed to generating high quality data and maintaining good documentation practices.
- You enjoy working collaboratively with others and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.
- You respect the process and are comfortable carrying out the routine execution of tasks while identifying opportunities to troubleshoot and address bottlenecks.
In this position you will
- Conduct routine mammalian cell culture, including cell line banking, expansion, and manipulation.
- Contribute to the end-to-end execution of large scale in vitro perturbation screens and downstream sample preparation for NGS.
- Participate in other research efforts related to cellular model, technology and assay development.
- Execute tasks and experiments with a focus on efficiency and reproducibility, following already established SOPs and ensuring accurate and reliable record keeping and documentation in our ELN and LIMS system.
- Analyze and present data at internal meetings and seminars.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with other Tech Center teams at Arc.
- Contribute to lab organization and maintenance, including rotating in regular cleaning schedules and inventory management of supplies and reagents.
Requirements
- BS degree in relevant field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or MS degree in relevant field with 2+ years of relevant postgraduate experience. Industry experience is desirable but not required.
- Proficiency in mammalian cell culture procedures and associated aseptic techniques, including direct experience working with stem cells and differentiation workflows (neuron and microglia preferred).
- Hands-on experience executing high throughput CRISPR screens. Prior experience with pooled CRISPR screens is strongly preferred.
- Experienced with different NGS library preparation workflows (e.g. amplicon, bulk and single cell).
- Experience and knowledge of various cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques such as viral production, flow cytometry, and qPCR.
- Attention to details with the ability to deliver high quality work in a consistent manner.
- The ability to independently execute experiments involving complex workflows, and troubleshoot technical problems.
- The ability to be flexible and adaptable in a work environment.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Flexibility to work some weekends as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Neuroscience background, particularly experience with electrophysiology and/or molecular neuroscience techniques.
- Prior experience with single-cell RNA sequencing. Experience with 10x Flex is a plus.
- Multi-color flow cytometry and FACS sorting.
- Adept at molecular cloning. Prior experience with large pooled plasmid library construction is a plus.
- Experience with LIMS systems, ideally Benchling.
- Adept at data analysis in an independent manner.
The base salary range for this position is $92,500-$114,250. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.
About Arc Institute
Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.
Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.
Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:
- Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
- Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.
More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.
About the position
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Research Associate to join the Functional Genomics team inside the Genome Engineering Technology Center at the Arc Institute. This position will directly support our efforts of high-throughput interrogation of mammalian genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes with rich multi-omic readouts. You will play a critical role in the Virtual Cell Initiative, which aims to create the first foundational model that makes accurate predictions of cellular states and their response to intervention. You will also have the opportunity to partner closely with pioneering labs that have developed the fundamental toolbox for genome engineering and functional genomics screens, such as CRISPR nucleases, CRISPRi, CRISPRoff, CRISPRa, and serine or bridge recombinases.
The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience and proficient skills in mammalian cell culture, functional genomic screens, and NGS library preparation, and familiarity with various other cellular and molecular techniques. They must also demonstrate the ability to independently execute and troubleshoot complex workflows and protocols with an outstanding attention to detail. This is an excellent opportunity for a highly motivated and curious researcher interested in leveraging cutting-edge functional genomic technologies to drive innovative scientific discoveries.
About you
- You are highly motivated and passionate about applying cutting-edge functional genomics techniques to enable scientific discoveries.
- You are diligent, detail oriented, adaptable, and excel at troubleshooting.
- You are committed to generating high quality data and maintaining good documentation practices.
- You enjoy working collaboratively with others and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.
- You respect the process and are comfortable carrying out the routine execution of tasks while identifying opportunities to troubleshoot and address bottlenecks.
In this position you will
- Conduct routine mammalian cell culture, including cell line banking, expansion, and manipulation.
- Contribute to the end-to-end execution of large scale in vitro perturbation screens and downstream sample preparation for NGS.
- Participate in other research efforts related to cellular model, technology and assay development.
- Execute tasks and experiments with a focus on efficiency and reproducibility, following already established SOPs and ensuring accurate and reliable record keeping and documentation in our ELN and LIMS system.
- Analyze and present data at internal meetings and seminars.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with other Tech Center teams at Arc.
- Contribute to lab organization and maintenance, including rotating in regular cleaning schedules and inventory management of supplies and reagents.
Requirements
- BS degree in relevant field with 4+ years of relevant experience, or MS degree in relevant field with 2+ years of relevant postgraduate experience. Industry experience is desirable but not required.
- Proficiency in mammalian cell culture procedures and associated aseptic techniques, including direct experience working with stem cells and differentiation workflows (neuron and microglia preferred).
- Hands-on experience executing high throughput CRISPR screens. Prior experience with pooled CRISPR screens is strongly preferred.
- Experienced with different NGS library preparation workflows (e.g. amplicon, bulk and single cell).
- Experience and knowledge of various cellular, molecular and biochemical techniques such as viral production, flow cytometry, and qPCR.
- Attention to details with the ability to deliver high quality work in a consistent manner.
- The ability to independently execute experiments involving complex workflows, and troubleshoot technical problems.
- The ability to be flexible and adaptable in a work environment.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills.
- Flexibility to work some weekends as needed.
Preferred Qualifications
- Neuroscience background, particularly experience with electrophysiology and/or molecular neuroscience techniques.
- Prior experience with single-cell RNA sequencing. Experience with 10x Flex is a plus.
- Multi-color flow cytometry and FACS sorting.
- Adept at molecular cloning. Prior experience with large pooled plasmid library construction is a plus.
- Experience with LIMS systems, ideally Benchling.
- Adept at data analysis in an independent manner.
The base salary range for this position is $92,500-$114,250. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as an Arc Welder
Verify your degree field aligns with the role
Arc Welding roles require your OPT authorization to match your degree. Welding technology, materials science, and mechanical engineering degrees are the strongest fits. Confirm the job description references your field before applying to avoid authorization issues.
Target manufacturers with established OPT hiring
Large manufacturers in aerospace, automotive, and industrial equipment sectors are more likely to have HR teams familiar with OPT work authorization. Smaller shops may be unfamiliar with the process, so prepare a simple one-page OPT explainer for interviews.
Highlight AWS certifications prominently
American Welding Society certifications, particularly the Certified Welder credential, signal technical credibility to employers. Listing these above your education section reassures hiring managers about your qualifications before they get to your visa status.
Address your OPT timeline proactively
Be upfront about your OPT end date and whether you qualify for a STEM extension. Employers in skilled trades value direct communication. Knowing you have up to three years of work authorization removes a common hesitation for sponsorship-wary hiring managers.
Emphasize hands-on lab and shop experience
Employers hiring Arc Welders on OPT want proof of practical skill, not just coursework. List specific welding processes you have performed, such as SMAW, GMAW, or GTAW, along with the materials and thicknesses you have worked with in your program.
Ask about future H-2B or H-1B sponsorship early
Some manufacturing employers have sponsored welders on skilled worker or specialty occupation visas before. Asking during the offer stage, not midway through your OPT period, gives you and the employer time to assess long-term options without pressure.
Arc Welder OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students legally work as Arc Welders in the United States?
Yes, F-1 OPT students can work as Arc Welders if the role is directly related to their degree field. Programs in welding technology, materials science, or mechanical engineering typically satisfy this requirement. Your EAD card must be valid before your start date, and the job must fall within your authorized field of study.
Do Arc Welder jobs qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Arc Welder roles can qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension if your degree is in a STEM-designated field such as materials science or mechanical engineering. The employer must also be enrolled in E-Verify and agree to a formal training plan. Not all welding technology programs carry a STEM designation, so confirm your CIP code with your DSO before applying.
Where is the best place to find Arc Welder jobs that accept OPT students?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT students and filters jobs by sponsorship and work authorization compatibility. Browsing Arc Welder listings on Migrate Mate lets you focus on employers already open to OPT candidates rather than spending time filtering out roles that require immediate permanent work authorization.
What should I bring to a job interview for an Arc Welder role while on OPT?
Bring your EAD card, your current I-20 with OPT authorization noted, and your passport. Employers will need to complete Form I-9, so having original documents ready speeds up the process. If you hold AWS certifications, bring copies of those as well. A brief written summary of your OPT end date and STEM extension eligibility can also reassure employers unfamiliar with F-1 status.
Can an Arc Welder employer sponsor me for an H-1B visa after my OPT ends?
H-1B visa sponsorship for Arc Welder roles is uncommon because the position does not typically meet the specialty occupation standard requiring a specific bachelor's degree. However, some employers have sponsored welders through other visa categories. It is worth discussing long-term options directly with the employer during the offer process rather than assuming sponsorship is off the table.