Backend Infrastructure Engineer Jobs for OPT Students
Backend Infrastructure Engineer roles are among the most OPT-friendly positions in tech, with high demand from employers already running H-1B sponsorship pipelines. Most roles require proficiency in distributed systems, cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, and infrastructure-as-code tools. STEM OPT extension applies, giving you up to three years of work authorization.
See All Backend Infrastructure Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 60+ Backend Infrastructure 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 60+ Backend Infrastructure Engineer jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Backend Infrastructure Engineer roles.
Get Access To All JobsAbout Giga
Giga has recently raised a $61M Series A and has several paying customers, including DoorDash. We’re building the next generation of customer experience — real-time AI agents that can understand emotion, resolve issues instantly, and scale across the world’s largest enterprises. It’s an exciting inflection point for the company. While we have been successful, we have larger ambitions. Our goal is to become the go-to AI platform for all enterprise automation, powered by our voice superintelligence. To achieve this, we need more great engineers. The work affects millions of people every day and our engineers have autonomy and make true impact. This opportunity is unique because we have brilliant founders, have found commercial success, and see a clear path to becoming a generational company. Some further info about us:
Voice AI startup Giga raises $61M Series A
DoorDash and Giga Partnership
Giga builds AI agents trusted by the largest B2C companies in the world. Industry leaders like DoorDash trust Giga with their most complex support and operations workflows across voice, chat, and email. If being a part of this resonates with you, please apply!
The Role
We're looking for an infrastructure engineer to build the platform that powers our AI agents. Your customers are other engineers on the team; you'll create the systems, tools, and abstractions that make everyone more productive and our platform more reliable. This isn't DevOps or traditional SRE. You'll write application code, but focused on the foundational layers: deployment systems, observability, data infrastructure, and the internal tools that let the team move fast without breaking things.
What You'll Work On
A few examples from our current priorities:
Controlled deployments: Staged rollout systems with traffic scaling, scheduling, and pass rate thresholds to safeguard production
Observability: Creating the instrumentation, logging, and monitoring infrastructure that helps us understand what's happening in production
Data infrastructure: Building pipelines and storage systems for training data, analytics, and agent memory
Developer tooling: Internal CLIs, testing frameworks, and automation that reduces friction for the engineering team
As a senior infrastructure engineer, you'll own critical systems end-to-end and make decisions that affect the reliability and velocity of the entire engineering team.
Tech Stack
Backend: Python (Django/FastAPI), TypeScript (Node.js)
Infrastructure: AWS, Modal, Kubernetes
Data: ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, Redis
Tooling: Terraform, Docker, CI/CD pipelines
You Might Be a Fit If You
Have 4+ years of experience in infrastructure, platform, or backend engineering roles
Have built systems that other engineers depend on, and understand the responsibility that comes with that
Care deeply about reliability, but also know when "good enough" is the right call
Are comfortable across the stack, from application code to cloud infrastructure
Can debug production issues under pressure and build systems that prevent them from recurring
Think about developer experience as a product—you want the tools you build to be a pleasure to use
* Are excited about the infrastructure challenges of running AI agents at scale
Perks & Benefits
Catered lunch daily
Dinner stipend
$150/month wellness benefit (gym, fitness classes, mental health)
401(k) plan
Paid parental leave (12 weeks maternal, 6 weeks paternal)
Commuter benefits
* Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Giga is an equal opportunity employer. We're committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Compensation Range: $210K - $350K
About Giga
Giga has recently raised a $61M Series A and has several paying customers, including DoorDash. We’re building the next generation of customer experience — real-time AI agents that can understand emotion, resolve issues instantly, and scale across the world’s largest enterprises. It’s an exciting inflection point for the company. While we have been successful, we have larger ambitions. Our goal is to become the go-to AI platform for all enterprise automation, powered by our voice superintelligence. To achieve this, we need more great engineers. The work affects millions of people every day and our engineers have autonomy and make true impact. This opportunity is unique because we have brilliant founders, have found commercial success, and see a clear path to becoming a generational company. Some further info about us:
Voice AI startup Giga raises $61M Series A
DoorDash and Giga Partnership
Giga builds AI agents trusted by the largest B2C companies in the world. Industry leaders like DoorDash trust Giga with their most complex support and operations workflows across voice, chat, and email. If being a part of this resonates with you, please apply!
The Role
We're looking for an infrastructure engineer to build the platform that powers our AI agents. Your customers are other engineers on the team; you'll create the systems, tools, and abstractions that make everyone more productive and our platform more reliable. This isn't DevOps or traditional SRE. You'll write application code, but focused on the foundational layers: deployment systems, observability, data infrastructure, and the internal tools that let the team move fast without breaking things.
What You'll Work On
A few examples from our current priorities:
Controlled deployments: Staged rollout systems with traffic scaling, scheduling, and pass rate thresholds to safeguard production
Observability: Creating the instrumentation, logging, and monitoring infrastructure that helps us understand what's happening in production
Data infrastructure: Building pipelines and storage systems for training data, analytics, and agent memory
Developer tooling: Internal CLIs, testing frameworks, and automation that reduces friction for the engineering team
As a senior infrastructure engineer, you'll own critical systems end-to-end and make decisions that affect the reliability and velocity of the entire engineering team.
Tech Stack
Backend: Python (Django/FastAPI), TypeScript (Node.js)
Infrastructure: AWS, Modal, Kubernetes
Data: ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, Redis
Tooling: Terraform, Docker, CI/CD pipelines
You Might Be a Fit If You
Have 4+ years of experience in infrastructure, platform, or backend engineering roles
Have built systems that other engineers depend on, and understand the responsibility that comes with that
Care deeply about reliability, but also know when "good enough" is the right call
Are comfortable across the stack, from application code to cloud infrastructure
Can debug production issues under pressure and build systems that prevent them from recurring
Think about developer experience as a product—you want the tools you build to be a pleasure to use
* Are excited about the infrastructure challenges of running AI agents at scale
Perks & Benefits
Catered lunch daily
Dinner stipend
$150/month wellness benefit (gym, fitness classes, mental health)
401(k) plan
Paid parental leave (12 weeks maternal, 6 weeks paternal)
Commuter benefits
* Medical, dental, and vision coverage
Giga is an equal opportunity employer. We're committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Compensation Range: $210K - $350K
How to Get Visa Sponsorship as a Backend Infrastructure Engineer
Target companies with existing H-1B sponsorship history
Companies that have previously sponsored H-1B visas for infrastructure engineers are far more likely to hire OPT students. Search OFLC disclosure data to identify employers with backend engineering job titles in their filing history before applying.
Emphasize cloud certifications on your resume
AWS, GCP, and Azure certifications signal concrete skills that infrastructure teams need immediately. Certified candidates reduce onboarding time, which makes hiring managers more willing to work through OPT paperwork and future sponsorship conversations with legal.
Apply to companies with dedicated immigration support teams
Mid-to-large tech companies typically have in-house immigration counsel or established law firm relationships. These employers process OPT and H-1B paperwork routinely, meaning your sponsorship request is a known workflow rather than an unfamiliar burden.
Start your OPT EAD application 90 days before graduation
USCIS recommends filing your EAD application up to 90 days before your program end date. Late filings can create work authorization gaps, which disqualify you from roles with immediate start dates common in infrastructure hiring.
Highlight infrastructure-as-code and automation experience prominently
Terraform, Ansible, and Kubernetes experience directly addresses the skills shortage in infrastructure teams. Demonstrating these competencies in your resume and interviews positions you as a high-value hire, making sponsorship a worthwhile investment for employers.
Address OPT duration and STEM extension proactively with recruiters
Telling recruiters upfront that your STEM OPT provides up to three years of authorization removes ambiguity early. Most infrastructure hiring cycles close well within that window, making OPT a practical near-term solution before H-1B sponsorship begins.
Backend Infrastructure Engineer jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Backend Infrastructure Engineer JobsSee all 60+ Backend Infrastructure Engineer jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Backend Infrastructure Engineer roles.
Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Is Backend Infrastructure Engineer a STEM-eligible role for OPT extension?
Yes. Backend Infrastructure Engineer roles almost always fall under STEM-eligible CIP codes, typically Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Information Technology. If your degree qualifies and your employer is E-Verify registered, you can apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension, giving you up to three years of total OPT work authorization.
Do Backend Infrastructure Engineer employers commonly sponsor OPT students?
Sponsorship rates are high relative to other engineering disciplines because infrastructure talent is genuinely scarce. Companies running large cloud environments, particularly in fintech, enterprise SaaS, and hyperscaler ecosystems, regularly hire on OPT with intent to sponsor H-1B. Migrate Mate filters for sponsoring employers specifically, so you can focus applications on companies that have already committed to the process.
Can I work as a contractor or on a W-2 basis as a Backend Infrastructure Engineer on OPT?
W-2 employment is the cleanest arrangement on OPT and what most employers prefer. Contract roles through a staffing agency on W-2 also qualify. Self-employment and 1099 independent contractor arrangements require careful documentation showing you are working for your own established business, and USCIS scrutinizes these arrangements closely during STEM OPT reporting periods.
What happens to my OPT status if my Backend Infrastructure Engineer employer does layoffs?
You have a 60-day grace period from the date your employment ends to find new authorized employment, transfer to a different visa status, or depart the United States. During this window you cannot work. For infrastructure engineers, 60 days is a tight job search timeline, so maintaining a pipeline of active applications before any employment ends is strongly advisable.
How do I verify that a Backend Infrastructure Engineer role qualifies as directly related to my degree for OPT?
Your role must be directly related to your major field of study as listed on your I-20. For a Computer Science or Information Systems graduate, Backend Infrastructure Engineer work involving distributed systems, cloud architecture, or systems programming clearly qualifies. Your DSO at your university makes the final determination, and you should confirm the connection with them before accepting an offer to avoid any compliance issues.
See which Backend Infrastructure Engineer employers are hiring and sponsoring visas right now.
Search Backend Infrastructure Engineer Jobs