OPT Associate Scientist Jobs
Associate Scientist roles in biotech, pharma, and research labs are among the most OPT-friendly positions in STEM. Most qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension, giving you up to three years of work authorization. Employers in these fields routinely sponsor H-1B visas for strong performers.
Find OPT Associate Scientist JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 334+ Associate Scientist jobs
See all 334+ Associate Scientist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Associate Scientist roles.
Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Data is at the center of everything we do. As a startup, we disrupted the credit card industry by individually personalizing every credit card offer using statistical modeling and the relational database, cutting edge technology in 1988! Fast-forward a few years, and this little innovation and our passion for data has skyrocketed us to a Fortune 200 company and a leader in the world of data-driven decision-making.
As a Data Scientist at Capital One, you’ll be part of a team that’s leading the next wave of disruption at a whole new scale, using the latest in computing and machine learning technologies and operating across billions of customer records to unlock the big opportunities that help everyday people save money, time and agony in their financial lives.
Team Description
The Beyond AML Modeling & Innovations (BAMI) team within the Enterprise Risk Organization leverages AI to modernize and transform how we assess risk. We are a small but mighty team of data scientists and business analysts who partner closely with stakeholders to design and deploy innovative solutions. In this role, you will have the opportunity to drive a variety of 0-to-1 projects, utilizing traditional machine learning, natural language processing, graph-based modeling, and Generative AI and more to solve novel, complex challenges. You will have the opportunity to leverage your creativity and business sense in combination with technical skills to build holistic solutions that can address the heart of our stakeholder’s pain points.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
In this role, you will:
- Partner with a cross-functional team of data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to deliver a product customers love
- Leverage a broad stack of technologies — Python, Conda, AWS, H2O, Spark, and more — to reveal the insights hidden within huge volumes of numeric and textual data
- Build machine learning models through all phases of development, from design through training, evaluation, validation, and implementation
- Flex your interpersonal skills to translate the complexity of your work into tangible business goals
The Ideal Candidate is:
- Innovative. You continually research and evaluate emerging technologies. You stay current on published state-of-the-art methods, technologies, and applications and seek out opportunities to apply them.
- Creative. You thrive on bringing definition to big, undefined problems. You love asking questions and pushing hard to find answers. You’re not afraid to share a new idea.
- Technical. You’re comfortable with open-source languages and are passionate about developing further. You have hands-on experience developing data science solutions using open-source tools and cloud computing platforms.
- Statistically-minded. You’ve built models, validated them, and backtested them. You know how to interpret a confusion matrix or a ROC curve. You have experience with clustering, classification, sentiment analysis, time series, and deep learning.
- A data guru. “Big data” doesn’t faze you. You have the skills to retrieve, combine, and analyze data from a variety of sources and structures. You know understanding the data is often the key to great data science.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining one of the following with an expectation that the required degree will be obtained on or before the scheduled start date:
- A Bachelor's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) plus 2 years of experience performing data analytics
- A Master's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) or an MBA with a quantitative concentration
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master’s Degree in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics), or PhD in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
- Experience working with AWS
- At least 2 years’ experience in Python, Scala, or R
- At least 2 years’ experience with machine learning
- At least 2 years’ experience with SQL
Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.
COMPENSATION
-
The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.
-
McLean, VA: $135,600 - $154,800 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
- Richmond, VA: $123,300 - $140,700 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.
This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.
Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.
This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.
No agencies please.
Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.
If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com.
Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.
Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).
INTRODUCTION
Data is at the center of everything we do. As a startup, we disrupted the credit card industry by individually personalizing every credit card offer using statistical modeling and the relational database, cutting edge technology in 1988! Fast-forward a few years, and this little innovation and our passion for data has skyrocketed us to a Fortune 200 company and a leader in the world of data-driven decision-making.
As a Data Scientist at Capital One, you’ll be part of a team that’s leading the next wave of disruption at a whole new scale, using the latest in computing and machine learning technologies and operating across billions of customer records to unlock the big opportunities that help everyday people save money, time and agony in their financial lives.
Team Description
The Beyond AML Modeling & Innovations (BAMI) team within the Enterprise Risk Organization leverages AI to modernize and transform how we assess risk. We are a small but mighty team of data scientists and business analysts who partner closely with stakeholders to design and deploy innovative solutions. In this role, you will have the opportunity to drive a variety of 0-to-1 projects, utilizing traditional machine learning, natural language processing, graph-based modeling, and Generative AI and more to solve novel, complex challenges. You will have the opportunity to leverage your creativity and business sense in combination with technical skills to build holistic solutions that can address the heart of our stakeholder’s pain points.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
In this role, you will:
- Partner with a cross-functional team of data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to deliver a product customers love
- Leverage a broad stack of technologies — Python, Conda, AWS, H2O, Spark, and more — to reveal the insights hidden within huge volumes of numeric and textual data
- Build machine learning models through all phases of development, from design through training, evaluation, validation, and implementation
- Flex your interpersonal skills to translate the complexity of your work into tangible business goals
The Ideal Candidate is:
- Innovative. You continually research and evaluate emerging technologies. You stay current on published state-of-the-art methods, technologies, and applications and seek out opportunities to apply them.
- Creative. You thrive on bringing definition to big, undefined problems. You love asking questions and pushing hard to find answers. You’re not afraid to share a new idea.
- Technical. You’re comfortable with open-source languages and are passionate about developing further. You have hands-on experience developing data science solutions using open-source tools and cloud computing platforms.
- Statistically-minded. You’ve built models, validated them, and backtested them. You know how to interpret a confusion matrix or a ROC curve. You have experience with clustering, classification, sentiment analysis, time series, and deep learning.
- A data guru. “Big data” doesn’t faze you. You have the skills to retrieve, combine, and analyze data from a variety of sources and structures. You know understanding the data is often the key to great data science.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Currently has, or is in the process of obtaining one of the following with an expectation that the required degree will be obtained on or before the scheduled start date:
- A Bachelor's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) plus 2 years of experience performing data analytics
- A Master's Degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Operations Research, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field) or an MBA with a quantitative concentration
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Master’s Degree in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics), or PhD in “STEM” field (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
- Experience working with AWS
- At least 2 years’ experience in Python, Scala, or R
- At least 2 years’ experience with machine learning
- At least 2 years’ experience with SQL
Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.
COMPENSATION
-
The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.
-
McLean, VA: $135,600 - $154,800 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
- Richmond, VA: $123,300 - $140,700 for Sr Assoc, Data Science
Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.
This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.
Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.
This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days.
No agencies please.
Capital One is an equal opportunity employer (EOE, including disability/vet) committed to non-discrimination in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Capital One promotes a drug-free workplace. Capital One will consider for employment qualified applicants with a criminal history in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable laws regarding criminal background inquiries, including, to the extent applicable, Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law; San Francisco, California Police Code Article 49, Sections 4901-4920; New York City’s Fair Chance Act; Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Act; and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding criminal background inquiries.
If you have visited our website in search of information on employment opportunities or to apply for a position, and you require an accommodation, please contact Capital One Recruiting at 1-800-304-9102 or via email at RecruitingAccommodation@capitalone.com. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
For technical support or questions about Capital One's recruiting process, please send an email to Careers@capitalone.com.
Capital One does not provide, endorse nor guarantee and is not liable for third-party products, services, educational tools or other information available through this site.
Capital One Financial is made up of several different entities. Please note that any position posted in Canada is for Capital One Canada, any position posted in the United Kingdom is for Capital One Europe and any position posted in the Philippines is for Capital One Philippines Service Corp. (COPSSC).
See all 334+ OPT Associate Scientist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Associate Scientist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as an Associate Scientist
Target STEM-designated programs first
Your degree field determines STEM OPT eligibility. Life sciences, chemistry, biology, and biomedical engineering degrees qualify. Confirm your program's CIP code with your DSO before applying, so you know exactly how much OPT runway you're working with.
Apply to companies with active H-1B sponsorship history
Biotech and pharmaceutical employers like large CROs and research institutions file H-1B petitions regularly. Prioritize companies where Associate Scientists have historically transitioned from OPT to full sponsorship. Their internal processes for international employees are already established.
Address OPT status clearly and early
Don't wait for the offer stage to bring up work authorization. Mention your OPT status and STEM extension eligibility in cover letters. Hiring managers in research labs want to plan headcount without surprises during the background check phase.
Connect your degree directly to the role
Associate Scientist roles require a degree in a relevant scientific field. Make the connection explicit on your resume. A biochemistry degree applying to a cell biology role needs visible overlap in coursework, lab techniques, and research focus areas.
Start your job search 90 days before OPT starts
USCIS recommends applying for OPT up to 90 days before your program end date. Use that lead time to interview actively. Research lab hiring moves slower than tech, so building pipeline early prevents gaps in your employment authorization timeline.
Document your lab skills with specificity
Generic resumes don't get Associate Scientist interviews. List specific instruments, assays, and software platforms you've used. PCR, flow cytometry, HPLC, and ELN experience are concrete qualifiers that let screeners verify your fit without calling a reference.
Associate Scientist OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I work as an Associate Scientist on F-1 OPT?
Yes. Associate Scientist roles are directly tied to STEM degree fields like biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and biomedical engineering, which means they qualify for standard OPT and typically for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. That gives you up to three years of work authorization without employer sponsorship, provided your employer is enrolled in E-Verify.
Do Associate Scientist employers commonly sponsor H-1B visas?
Many do, particularly in pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and established biotech firms. These organizations hire internationally at scale and have legal infrastructure in place for H-1B petitions. Smaller startups vary significantly. When browsing roles on Migrate Mate, you can filter specifically for employers with a verified sponsorship track record to focus your applications where conversion is most realistic.
What happens if my OPT expires before H-1B sponsorship comes through?
If your employer files your H-1B petition before your OPT expires and you have a valid EAD, you're covered under cap-gap protection through September 30 of that year. If the H-1B isn't filed in time, you'd need to stop working. This makes timing critical: your employer should initiate the H-1B process well before your STEM OPT end date.
Does my Associate Scientist job need to match my degree field exactly?
Not exactly, but it needs to be directly related. USCIS and your DSO review whether the role is in a field closely connected to your degree. A chemistry graduate working in analytical method development has a clear connection. A biology graduate moving into clinical data coordination may need a stronger written justification from both employer and DSO to satisfy OPT requirements.
How do I find Associate Scientist roles that are open to OPT candidates?
Many job postings don't specify OPT explicitly, but STEM-heavy employers in biotech, pharma, and contract research are the most receptive. Migrate Mate is designed specifically for F-1 OPT job seekers and surfaces Associate Scientist roles from employers who actively consider international candidates, saving you from spending hours filtering out positions that won't sponsor.