Automation Engineer Jobs for OPT Students
Automation Engineer roles are a strong fit for F-1 OPT students, with most positions qualifying under STEM OPT extension eligibility. Employers in manufacturing, tech, and automotive actively hire for this title, and the 24-month STEM extension gives you meaningful runway to prove your value before H-1B sponsorship conversations begin.
See All Automation Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 1,659+ Automation Engineer jobs


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 1,659+ Automation Engineer jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Automation Engineer roles.
Get Access To All Jobs
INTRODUCTION
Let’s face it, a company whose mission is human transformation better have some fresh thinking about the employer/employee relationship. We do. We can’t cram it all in here, but you’ll start noticing it from the first interview. Even our candidate experience is different. And when you get an offer from us (and accept it), you get way more than a paycheck. You get a personal BetterUp Coach, a development plan, a trained and coached manager, the most amazing team you’ve ever met (yes, each with their own personal BetterUp Coach), and most importantly, work that matters. This makes for a remarkably focused and fulfilling work experience. Frankly, it’s not for everyone. But for people with fire in their belly, it’s a game-changing, career-defining, soul-lifting move.
Join us and we promise you the most intense and fulfilling years of your career, doing life-changing work in a fun, inventive, soulful culture. If that sounds exciting—and the job description below feels like a fit—we really should start talking.
LOCATION
We are a hybrid company with a focus on in-person collaboration when necessary. Employees are expected to be available to work from one of our office hubs at least two days per week, or eight days per month. Our US hub locations include: Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and the Washington, DC metro area. If this is a role based in Europe, our Europe hub locations are London, UK and Amsterdam, NL. Please ensure you can realistically commit to this structure before applying.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
We’re looking for an AI Automation and Integration Engineer to join our rapidly evolving IT & AI Workspace Technology team. This role is for a hands-on builder who thrives on creating smarter, more connected systems—someone who can transform manual workflows into intelligent, AI-enabled automations using cutting-edge tools like Model Context Protocol (MCP), Slack workflows, and secure system integrations.
You’ll design and implement scalable automations across our SaaS ecosystem, partner closely with our AI product and infrastructure teams, and bring a high degree of technical rigor and curiosity to every problem you solve. This is a key role on a small, fast-moving team where your work will directly impact how we scale, automate, and future-proof our internal operations.
What you’ll do:
MCP & AI Workflow Engineering:
- Implement and scale our Model Context Protocol (MCP) to support secure, composable AI workflows across Slack, Jira, Salesforce, GitHub, AWS-based infrastructure, LLM providers (e.g., Claude), and internal APIs.
- Design agentic systems that enable AI tooling to integrate seamlessly with operational data and user identity services.
- Author requests for comments (RFCs), technical requirements documents (TRDs), and internal documentation to align MCP features with enterprise use cases.
Automation & Integration Development:
- Build and maintain scalable automations and secure APIs to reduce operational overhead in onboarding, provisioning, and data lifecycle management.
- Own development and maintenance of reusable modules for identity sync, data uploads (e.g., CSV bulk importers), and AI-to-API orchestration.
- Drive continuous improvement across automation platforms by collaborating with stakeholder teams across the business.
Security, Identity & System Governance:
- Work with InfoSec and IT teams to enforce role-based access controls and SAML/SSO integrations.
- Harden identity workflows across US and EU regions, ensuring compliance with internal and external standards.
- Support audit readiness through traceable change management and data integrity practices.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Attend cross functional standups, Architecture Roundtables, and AI working groups to ensure engineering solutions align with company goals.
- Partner closely with stakeholders to balance speed and safety in fast-moving pilot initiatives.
- Advocate for test-driven development (TDD), documentation, and open source-inspired code reusability.
What Success Looks Like
- MCP server scaled and adopted across multiple workflows with stable, secure integrations.
- Automation measurably reduced manual data entry through bulk import and automation tooling (e.g., 50% reduction).
- Onboarding and provisioning latency improved through identity automation (e.g., 30% faster completion).
- Clear documentation, playbooks, and dashboards enable stakeholders to self-serve with AI tools and automation templates, not rely on ad-hoc IT custom work.
- All automation systems have strong test coverage, robust monitoring, and meet security review requirements, with audit-ready logs for provisioning and data movement.
- Impact is visible and quantified through simple time-saved and adoption metrics layered on top of Jira, dashboards, and usage telemetry.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
If you have some or all of the following, please apply:
This is a hands-on AI automation role focused on production systems. Candidates without experience shipping AI-enabled automations or orchestration workflows into real environments are unlikely to be a fit.
- 3–6 years of professional experience in software or systems engineering, with demonstrated ability to independently own backend services, integrations, or automation workflows end to end.
- Direct experience integrating AI capabilities into production systems, including orchestrating LLM-powered workflows across APIs, event-driven systems, and internal services. (This is not a research or prompt-only role.)
- Hands-on experience designing AI-assisted automations that operate on real business data with appropriate context, permissions, and safeguards.
- Strong experience with automation and orchestration platforms, such as n8n, Zapier, or custom-built orchestration frameworks, used to automate real operational workflows.
- Hands-on experience building pipelines or automations using MCP, Step Functions, or equivalent event-driven architectures.
- Demonstrated experience integrating APIs and building automations across complex SaaS ecosystems.
- Strong scripting or development skills (e.g., Python, Ruby/Rails, or JavaScript) for writing custom connectors, services, or data transformations.
- Familiarity with common SaaS platforms such as Okta, Jira, Slack, Workday, Google Workspace, FreshService, and their APIs.
- Experience working with authentication protocols (e.g., SAML, OAuth) and cloud platforms such as AWS or GCP.
AI at BetterUp
Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability. As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We're looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology – people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work. These professionals thoughtfully integrate AI into their work to deliver exceptional results while maintaining the human judgment and creativity that drives real innovation. During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact.
BENEFITS
At BetterUp, we are committed to living out our mission every day and that starts with providing benefits that allow our employees to care for themselves, support their families, and give back to their community.
- Access to BetterUp coaching; one for you and one for a friend or family member.
- A competitive compensation plan with opportunity for advancement.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
- Flexible paid time off.
- Per year:
- All federal/statutory holidays observed.
- 4 BetterUp Inner Workdays.
- 5 Volunteer Days to give back.
- Learning and Development stipend.
- Company wide Summer & Winter breaks.
- Year-round charitable contribution of your choice on behalf of BetterUp.
- 401(k) self contribution.
We are dedicated to building diverse teams that fuel an authentic workplace and sense of belonging for each and every employee. We know applying for a job can be intimidating, please don’t hesitate to reach out — we encourage everyone interested in joining us to apply.
BetterUp Inc. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, BetterUp Inc. complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. 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.
At BetterUp, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, residence location, as well as market indicators. The range below is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future.
The base salary range for the role is $144,000 to $207,000.
Protecting your privacy and treating your personal information with care is very important to us, and central to the entire BetterUp family. By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your personal information will be processed in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. If you have any questions about the privacy of your personal information or your rights with regards to your personal information, please reach out to support@betterup.co.
LI-Hybrid

INTRODUCTION
Let’s face it, a company whose mission is human transformation better have some fresh thinking about the employer/employee relationship. We do. We can’t cram it all in here, but you’ll start noticing it from the first interview. Even our candidate experience is different. And when you get an offer from us (and accept it), you get way more than a paycheck. You get a personal BetterUp Coach, a development plan, a trained and coached manager, the most amazing team you’ve ever met (yes, each with their own personal BetterUp Coach), and most importantly, work that matters. This makes for a remarkably focused and fulfilling work experience. Frankly, it’s not for everyone. But for people with fire in their belly, it’s a game-changing, career-defining, soul-lifting move.
Join us and we promise you the most intense and fulfilling years of your career, doing life-changing work in a fun, inventive, soulful culture. If that sounds exciting—and the job description below feels like a fit—we really should start talking.
LOCATION
We are a hybrid company with a focus on in-person collaboration when necessary. Employees are expected to be available to work from one of our office hubs at least two days per week, or eight days per month. Our US hub locations include: Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and the Washington, DC metro area. If this is a role based in Europe, our Europe hub locations are London, UK and Amsterdam, NL. Please ensure you can realistically commit to this structure before applying.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
We’re looking for an AI Automation and Integration Engineer to join our rapidly evolving IT & AI Workspace Technology team. This role is for a hands-on builder who thrives on creating smarter, more connected systems—someone who can transform manual workflows into intelligent, AI-enabled automations using cutting-edge tools like Model Context Protocol (MCP), Slack workflows, and secure system integrations.
You’ll design and implement scalable automations across our SaaS ecosystem, partner closely with our AI product and infrastructure teams, and bring a high degree of technical rigor and curiosity to every problem you solve. This is a key role on a small, fast-moving team where your work will directly impact how we scale, automate, and future-proof our internal operations.
What you’ll do:
MCP & AI Workflow Engineering:
- Implement and scale our Model Context Protocol (MCP) to support secure, composable AI workflows across Slack, Jira, Salesforce, GitHub, AWS-based infrastructure, LLM providers (e.g., Claude), and internal APIs.
- Design agentic systems that enable AI tooling to integrate seamlessly with operational data and user identity services.
- Author requests for comments (RFCs), technical requirements documents (TRDs), and internal documentation to align MCP features with enterprise use cases.
Automation & Integration Development:
- Build and maintain scalable automations and secure APIs to reduce operational overhead in onboarding, provisioning, and data lifecycle management.
- Own development and maintenance of reusable modules for identity sync, data uploads (e.g., CSV bulk importers), and AI-to-API orchestration.
- Drive continuous improvement across automation platforms by collaborating with stakeholder teams across the business.
Security, Identity & System Governance:
- Work with InfoSec and IT teams to enforce role-based access controls and SAML/SSO integrations.
- Harden identity workflows across US and EU regions, ensuring compliance with internal and external standards.
- Support audit readiness through traceable change management and data integrity practices.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
- Attend cross functional standups, Architecture Roundtables, and AI working groups to ensure engineering solutions align with company goals.
- Partner closely with stakeholders to balance speed and safety in fast-moving pilot initiatives.
- Advocate for test-driven development (TDD), documentation, and open source-inspired code reusability.
What Success Looks Like
- MCP server scaled and adopted across multiple workflows with stable, secure integrations.
- Automation measurably reduced manual data entry through bulk import and automation tooling (e.g., 50% reduction).
- Onboarding and provisioning latency improved through identity automation (e.g., 30% faster completion).
- Clear documentation, playbooks, and dashboards enable stakeholders to self-serve with AI tools and automation templates, not rely on ad-hoc IT custom work.
- All automation systems have strong test coverage, robust monitoring, and meet security review requirements, with audit-ready logs for provisioning and data movement.
- Impact is visible and quantified through simple time-saved and adoption metrics layered on top of Jira, dashboards, and usage telemetry.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
If you have some or all of the following, please apply:
This is a hands-on AI automation role focused on production systems. Candidates without experience shipping AI-enabled automations or orchestration workflows into real environments are unlikely to be a fit.
- 3–6 years of professional experience in software or systems engineering, with demonstrated ability to independently own backend services, integrations, or automation workflows end to end.
- Direct experience integrating AI capabilities into production systems, including orchestrating LLM-powered workflows across APIs, event-driven systems, and internal services. (This is not a research or prompt-only role.)
- Hands-on experience designing AI-assisted automations that operate on real business data with appropriate context, permissions, and safeguards.
- Strong experience with automation and orchestration platforms, such as n8n, Zapier, or custom-built orchestration frameworks, used to automate real operational workflows.
- Hands-on experience building pipelines or automations using MCP, Step Functions, or equivalent event-driven architectures.
- Demonstrated experience integrating APIs and building automations across complex SaaS ecosystems.
- Strong scripting or development skills (e.g., Python, Ruby/Rails, or JavaScript) for writing custom connectors, services, or data transformations.
- Familiarity with common SaaS platforms such as Okta, Jira, Slack, Workday, Google Workspace, FreshService, and their APIs.
- Experience working with authentication protocols (e.g., SAML, OAuth) and cloud platforms such as AWS or GCP.
AI at BetterUp
Our team thrives at the intersection of human expertise and AI capability. As an AI-forward company, adaptation and continuous learning are part of our daily work. We're looking for teammates who are excited to evolve alongside technology – people who experiment boldly, share their discoveries openly, and help define best practices for AI-augmented work. These professionals thoughtfully integrate AI into their work to deliver exceptional results while maintaining the human judgment and creativity that drives real innovation. During our interview process, you’ll have opportunities to showcase how you harness AI to learn, iterate, and amplify your impact.
BENEFITS
At BetterUp, we are committed to living out our mission every day and that starts with providing benefits that allow our employees to care for themselves, support their families, and give back to their community.
- Access to BetterUp coaching; one for you and one for a friend or family member.
- A competitive compensation plan with opportunity for advancement.
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
- Flexible paid time off.
- Per year:
- All federal/statutory holidays observed.
- 4 BetterUp Inner Workdays.
- 5 Volunteer Days to give back.
- Learning and Development stipend.
- Company wide Summer & Winter breaks.
- Year-round charitable contribution of your choice on behalf of BetterUp.
- 401(k) self contribution.
We are dedicated to building diverse teams that fuel an authentic workplace and sense of belonging for each and every employee. We know applying for a job can be intimidating, please don’t hesitate to reach out — we encourage everyone interested in joining us to apply.
BetterUp Inc. provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, BetterUp Inc. complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. 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.
At BetterUp, we compensate our employees fairly for their work. Base salary is determined by job-related experience, education/training, residence location, as well as market indicators. The range below is representative of base salary only and does not include equity, sales bonus plans (when applicable) and benefits. This range may be modified in the future.
The base salary range for the role is $144,000 to $207,000.
Protecting your privacy and treating your personal information with care is very important to us, and central to the entire BetterUp family. By submitting your application, you acknowledge that your personal information will be processed in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. If you have any questions about the privacy of your personal information or your rights with regards to your personal information, please reach out to support@betterup.co.
LI-Hybrid
How to Get Visa Sponsorship as an Automation Engineer
Target STEM-designated employers first
Automation Engineer roles almost always qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Focus on companies registered with E-Verify, which is required for STEM OPT. This filters out employers who can't legally support your extension before you invest time applying.
Lead with your PLC and robotics experience
Employers scanning OPT candidates want proof you can contribute immediately. Highlight hands-on experience with tools like Siemens TIA Portal, Allen-Bradley, or FANUC robotics upfront. Concrete technical credentials reduce perceived risk for employers unfamiliar with OPT work authorization.
Address OPT proactively in your cover letter
Briefly explain your current OPT status, your STEM extension eligibility, and your authorization end date. Many hiring managers don't understand OPT timelines. A clear, confident one-paragraph explanation removes ambiguity and prevents your application from being filtered out prematurely.
Prioritize mid-size manufacturers and system integrators
Large enterprises often have rigid immigration policies, but mid-size manufacturers and automation system integrators hire OPT students regularly. These companies need technical talent and are often more flexible about sponsoring H-1B petitions after your OPT period builds their confidence in you.
File your STEM OPT extension at least 90 days early
USCIS recommends filing your STEM OPT extension at least 90 days before your initial OPT expires. If filed on time, you get a 180-day automatic extension while it's pending. Missing this window creates an employment gap that complicates your standing with your current employer.
Get your I-983 training plan signed before you start
Your employer must complete and sign Form I-983 before your STEM OPT begins. The training plan must describe how your Automation Engineer role relates to your STEM degree. Start this conversation with HR during onboarding, not after your extension is already filed.
Automation Engineer jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Automation Engineer JobsSee all 1,659+ Automation Engineer jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Automation Engineer roles.
Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Do Automation Engineer roles qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Yes, in most cases. Automation Engineer positions typically fall under CIP codes related to electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or computer science, all of which are STEM-designated fields. Your degree must be from a U.S. school and listed on the STEM Designated Degree Program List maintained by ICE. Confirm your specific CIP code with your DSO before assuming eligibility.
How much time do I have to find an Automation Engineer job on OPT?
After your OPT start date, you have a 90-day unemployment limit during your initial OPT period. If you secure a STEM OPT extension, a separate 150-day unemployment limit applies. Automation Engineer roles in manufacturing and tech tend to have strong demand, but don't wait. Browse OPT-friendly postings on Migrate Mate to start applications early in your job search.
Does my Automation Engineer job have to be directly related to my degree?
Yes. For both initial OPT and the STEM OPT extension, your employment must be directly related to your major area of study. For Automation Engineer roles, this typically means a degree in electrical engineering, mechatronics, industrial engineering, or computer science. If your degree is in an adjacent field, work with your DSO to document how the role connects to your program of study.
Can I work on a project basis or contract as an Automation Engineer on OPT?
Self-employment is technically permitted on OPT if you own a business that employs you, but pure freelance or independent contracting with no fixed employer is a gray area that many DSOs advise against. For STEM OPT specifically, you must have a formal employer relationship with an E-Verify company. Contract-to-hire or W-2 contract roles through a staffing agency that is E-Verify registered are generally acceptable.
Which industries hire the most Automation Engineers willing to sponsor OPT students?
Manufacturing, automotive, semiconductor fabrication, and industrial robotics companies are the heaviest hirers of Automation Engineers and have established track records of OPT and H-1B sponsorship. Aerospace and defense firms also hire for this role, though security clearance requirements can complicate OPT eligibility. Companies that sponsor H-1B petitions consistently tend to be comfortable with OPT as a pipeline, which is why filtering by sponsorship history matters when you search.
See which Automation Engineer employers are hiring and sponsoring visas right now.
Search Automation Engineer Jobs