OPT Llm Engineer Jobs
LLM Engineer roles are among the most actively sponsored positions for F-1 OPT students right now, with demand from AI labs, enterprise software companies, and well-funded startups. Your OPT window, including the 24-month STEM extension, gives you up to three years to build experience and secure H-1B visa sponsorship.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
FocusKPI is seeking an LLM Research Engineer to join one of our clients, a high-tech SaaS company. Looking for qualified candidates from high-tech companies.
Work Location: Mountain View, CA (Onsite role)
Duration: 12-month contract
Pay Range: $115 - 131/hr
Responsibilities:
- Design, train, and fine-tune large language models (e.g., GPT, LLaMA, PaLM) for various applications.
- Conduct research on cutting-edge techniques in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to improve model performance.
- Explore advancements in transformer architectures, multi-modal models, and emergent AI behaviors.
- Collect, clean, and preprocess large-scale text datasets from diverse sources.
- Develop and implement data augmentation techniques to improve training data quality.
- Ensure data is free from bias and aligned with ethical AI standards.
- Optimize model architecture to improve accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
- Implement techniques to reduce latency, memory footprint, and inference time for real-time applications.
- Collaborate with MLOps teams to deploy LLMs into production environments using Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud.
- Develop robust evaluation pipelines to measure model performance using key metrics like accuracy, perplexity, BLEU, and F1 score.
- Continuously test for bias, fairness, and robustness of language models across diverse datasets.
- Conduct A/B testing to evaluate model improvements in real-world applications.
- Stay updated with the latest advancements in generative AI, transformers, and NLP research.
- Contribute to research papers, patents, and open-source projects.
- Present findings and insights at conferences and internal knowledge-sharing sessions.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Education: Master's degree with a minimum of 3+ years of experience post-graduation or a Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 5+ years of experience post-graduation.
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field.
- Strong programming skills.
- Proficiency with Machine Learning.
- Proficiency with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or JAX.
- Hands-on experience with transformer-based models (e.g., GPT, BERT, RoBERTa, LLaMA).
- Expertise in natural language processing (NLP) and sequence-to-sequence models.
- Familiarity with Hugging Face libraries and OpenAI APIs.
- Experience with MLOps tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Strong understanding of distributed computing and GPU acceleration using CUDA.
- Experience with Evaluation Pipeline Development and Large Language Model Fine-Tuning.
- Knowledge of reinforcement learning and RLHF (Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback).
**No C2C resumes are considered**
Thank you!
FocusKPI Hiring Team
Founded in 2010, FocusKPI, Inc. (FocusKPI) is a data science and technology firm specializing in predictive analytics practice and methodologies. FocusKPI is a US company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with an East Coast office in Boston, Massachusetts.
NOTICE: Please be aware of fraudulent emails regarding job postings, job offers and fake checks. FocusKPI's recruiting team will strictly reach out via @focuskpi.com email domain. If you have received fraudulent emails now or in the past, please report it to https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
The domain @focuskpijobs.com is fraudulent and not related to FocusKPI. Please do not reply or communicate to anyone with @focuskpijobs.com.
INTRODUCTION
FocusKPI is seeking an LLM Research Engineer to join one of our clients, a high-tech SaaS company. Looking for qualified candidates from high-tech companies.
Work Location: Mountain View, CA (Onsite role)
Duration: 12-month contract
Pay Range: $115 - 131/hr
Responsibilities:
- Design, train, and fine-tune large language models (e.g., GPT, LLaMA, PaLM) for various applications.
- Conduct research on cutting-edge techniques in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to improve model performance.
- Explore advancements in transformer architectures, multi-modal models, and emergent AI behaviors.
- Collect, clean, and preprocess large-scale text datasets from diverse sources.
- Develop and implement data augmentation techniques to improve training data quality.
- Ensure data is free from bias and aligned with ethical AI standards.
- Optimize model architecture to improve accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
- Implement techniques to reduce latency, memory footprint, and inference time for real-time applications.
- Collaborate with MLOps teams to deploy LLMs into production environments using Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud.
- Develop robust evaluation pipelines to measure model performance using key metrics like accuracy, perplexity, BLEU, and F1 score.
- Continuously test for bias, fairness, and robustness of language models across diverse datasets.
- Conduct A/B testing to evaluate model improvements in real-world applications.
- Stay updated with the latest advancements in generative AI, transformers, and NLP research.
- Contribute to research papers, patents, and open-source projects.
- Present findings and insights at conferences and internal knowledge-sharing sessions.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Education: Master's degree with a minimum of 3+ years of experience post-graduation or a Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 5+ years of experience post-graduation.
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a related field.
- Strong programming skills.
- Proficiency with Machine Learning.
- Proficiency with deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or JAX.
- Hands-on experience with transformer-based models (e.g., GPT, BERT, RoBERTa, LLaMA).
- Expertise in natural language processing (NLP) and sequence-to-sequence models.
- Familiarity with Hugging Face libraries and OpenAI APIs.
- Experience with MLOps tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Strong understanding of distributed computing and GPU acceleration using CUDA.
- Experience with Evaluation Pipeline Development and Large Language Model Fine-Tuning.
- Knowledge of reinforcement learning and RLHF (Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback).
**No C2C resumes are considered**
Thank you!
FocusKPI Hiring Team
Founded in 2010, FocusKPI, Inc. (FocusKPI) is a data science and technology firm specializing in predictive analytics practice and methodologies. FocusKPI is a US company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with an East Coast office in Boston, Massachusetts.
NOTICE: Please be aware of fraudulent emails regarding job postings, job offers and fake checks. FocusKPI's recruiting team will strictly reach out via @focuskpi.com email domain. If you have received fraudulent emails now or in the past, please report it to https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
The domain @focuskpijobs.com is fraudulent and not related to FocusKPI. Please do not reply or communicate to anyone with @focuskpijobs.com.
See all OPT Llm Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Llm Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Llm Engineer
Align your degree field with your job duties
STEM OPT eligibility depends on your role being directly related to your degree. If you studied computer science or data science, document explicitly how your LLM engineering work applies those fields to satisfy DSO and employer verification requirements.
Emphasize production experience, not just research
Employers sponsoring OPT workers want engineers who ship models to production. Highlight experience fine-tuning, deploying, or evaluating large language models in real systems. Research experience alone raises sponsorship hesitancy at many companies.
Raise H-1B sponsorship before accepting an offer
Ask directly whether the company sponsors H-1B visas during the offer negotiation stage, not after signing. Discovering a sponsorship policy gap after your OPT clock is running wastes months you cannot recover.
Get your training plan documentation right from day one
For STEM OPT, your employer must sign a training plan detailing how the role develops your skills. Keep a copy, review it with your DSO, and ensure your actual job duties match what is described to avoid compliance issues.
Build a portfolio that speaks to LLM-specific skills
Open-source contributions, fine-tuned model demos, or retrieval-augmented generation projects give hiring managers concrete proof of your capabilities. A strong portfolio shortens hiring timelines and signals you are worth the sponsorship investment.
Llm Engineer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Do LLM Engineer roles qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension?
Yes, in most cases. If your degree is in computer science, electrical engineering, data science, or a related STEM field listed on the STEM designated degree program list, and your LLM Engineer role is directly related to that field, you qualify for the 24-month extension. Confirm eligibility with your DSO before your initial OPT period ends.
How do I find LLM Engineer jobs that are open to OPT students?
Migrate Mate is the best place to start. It filters job listings specifically for F-1 OPT and visa-sponsored roles, so you are not wasting time applying to companies that will not hire international students. Search for LLM Engineer, ML Engineer, or AI Engineer roles and filter by OPT sponsorship to surface the most relevant opportunities.
What happens to my OPT authorization if my LLM Engineer job ends unexpectedly?
You have a 60-day unemployment buffer during your OPT period. If you lose your job, you must report the change to your DSO immediately and begin searching for a new qualifying position. Exceeding 90 total days of unemployment across your entire OPT period, including STEM extension, can result in a loss of status.
Does my LLM Engineer role need to be full-time for OPT to remain valid?
OPT permits both full-time and part-time employment, but most students on post-completion OPT work full-time to maximize their unemployment buffer and demonstrate active engagement in their field. STEM OPT rules require that the role be paid and that the employer be enrolled in E-Verify, regardless of whether the position is full-time or part-time.
Can I work as a contract or freelance LLM Engineer on OPT?
Self-employment and independent contracting are technically permitted on OPT, but the rules are strict. You must be actively engaged in work related to your degree, able to document your projects, and cannot simply list yourself as a contractor without real, verifiable work. Most immigration attorneys recommend salaried employment with an E-Verify employer for STEM OPT to reduce compliance risk.