OPT Principal Engineer Jobs
Principal Engineer jobs are among the most OPT-friendly senior roles in tech. Most employers expect a graduate degree in computer science or engineering, and STEM OPT extensions apply, giving you up to three years of work authorization. Roles typically involve system architecture, technical leadership, and cross-functional ownership at scale.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS JOB
American Airlines is looking for Technical coaches of all levels. As a Technical coach at American Airlines, you will be guiding product teams and leaders to achieve the company objectives and product vision through the use of engineering principles. American Airlines believes that our purpose is to care for our people on life’s journey, customer or team member. You will be part of a team of coaches making a difference for millions of customers and more than 100,000 team members.
Our goal is to create an enviable, engineering-centric workplace. What does that mean though? Deploying is painless, you have a strong voice, communication flows, we experiment with our products, and we exploit new technology to continuously improve how we work. Of course, we also want to make sure we are having fun, working with, and caring for amazing people.
- The role of the Principal Technical coach is to help teams, products, portfolios, or even an entire organization to the next level of customer delivery.
- As a Principal Technical coach, you will leverage your technical and engineering experience getting hands on to solve real world problems, guiding leaders and teams to understand, embrace and evangelize modern engineering practices.
- This will be an opportunity to help shape the go forward technical strategies and reinforce current strategies to deliver amazing tech products to our customers.
- The Principal Technical coach will also play an integral role in developing technical coaching strategies as well as mentoring other coaches to build a world class coaching organization.
- The Principal Technical coach will be developing cutting edge code side by side with teams every day.
As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced. Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.
- Serve as a go-to expert on modern technology, architecture, engineering, and DevOps practices.
- Work with technical leaders and teams throughout the enterprise to influence and support the engineering culture at American Airlines.
- Collaborate with teams, products, portfolios, or an entire org on reaching the next level of customer delivery leveraging technology and modern engineering practices.
- Be a mentor and getting hands on with other technical coaches, software engineers, technical leads, or architects on learning and applying modern architecture, DevOps and engineering practices to solve business problems.
- Design and develop facilitator-lead materials related to modern engineering practices.
- Bring your real-world software engineering experience to the enablement organization to help build a viable community of technical coaches and practitioners throughout the enterprise.
- Through coaching soft skills, build trust, evaluate team’s current practices/methodologies and recommend appropriate next steps to achieve modern engineering outcomes.
- Develop and influence learning strategies for software engineers, technical leads, architects, and other technical leaders.
- This list is intended to reflect the current job, but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Required (At least 3 of the following):
- 6 years of software engineering and/or DevOps experience.
- 2 years of experience as a tech lead on a software engineering team.
- Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, computer engineering or related fields or equivalent work experience.
- Hands-on experience with engineering practices such as object-oriented design patterns, Extreme Programming, cloud design patterns, TDD, BDD, refactoring, automation, or continuous integration.
- Experience with implementing and operating DevOps tools/platforms across some part of the development lifecycle. These could include but may not be limited to Azure cloud computing, GitHub, Jenkins, Maven, Nexus, Hygieia, SonarQube, New Relic, or other similar tools.
- Proven experience in SQL and ability to design relational database schemas.
- Experience in coaching and mentoring others on various development, build, and deployment practices as well as DevOps principles.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in multiple programming languages and IDE.
- Experience in designing and implementing automated test suites.
- Proven experience in web framework.
- Experience designing, implementing and using end to end Continuous Delivery pipelines.
- Deep infrastructure experience delivering and operating either virtualized on-premises or public cloud services in a large-scale production environment (for example: network, security, or deployment automation).
- Familiarity with microservices architecture.
- Experience delivering software using an agile methodology like Extreme Programming, Kanban, or Scrum.
SKILLS, LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS
- Ability to assess agility needs and make recommendations based on team, product, or portfolio needs.
- Ability to identify when/where flow of work is impeded and work with the team to remove those impediments.
- A growth mindset with enthusiasm for learning new technologies quickly and applying the gained knowledge to address business problems.
- Expert communication skills with teams and leaders at all levels.
- Ability to find creative ways of improving and simplifying solutions, systems, and processes without getting bogged down in blockers or bottlenecks.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer:
- Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network.
- Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more.
- Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need.
- 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year. Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more.
FEEL FREE TO BE YOURSELF AT AMERICAN
From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Team Member Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world.
Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American.
INTRODUCTION
Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS JOB
American Airlines is looking for Technical coaches of all levels. As a Technical coach at American Airlines, you will be guiding product teams and leaders to achieve the company objectives and product vision through the use of engineering principles. American Airlines believes that our purpose is to care for our people on life’s journey, customer or team member. You will be part of a team of coaches making a difference for millions of customers and more than 100,000 team members.
Our goal is to create an enviable, engineering-centric workplace. What does that mean though? Deploying is painless, you have a strong voice, communication flows, we experiment with our products, and we exploit new technology to continuously improve how we work. Of course, we also want to make sure we are having fun, working with, and caring for amazing people.
- The role of the Principal Technical coach is to help teams, products, portfolios, or even an entire organization to the next level of customer delivery.
- As a Principal Technical coach, you will leverage your technical and engineering experience getting hands on to solve real world problems, guiding leaders and teams to understand, embrace and evangelize modern engineering practices.
- This will be an opportunity to help shape the go forward technical strategies and reinforce current strategies to deliver amazing tech products to our customers.
- The Principal Technical coach will also play an integral role in developing technical coaching strategies as well as mentoring other coaches to build a world class coaching organization.
- The Principal Technical coach will be developing cutting edge code side by side with teams every day.
As noted above, this list is intended to reflect the current job but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced. Management will modify the job or require other tasks be performed whenever it is deemed appropriate to do so, observing, of course, any legal obligations including any collective bargaining obligations.
- Serve as a go-to expert on modern technology, architecture, engineering, and DevOps practices.
- Work with technical leaders and teams throughout the enterprise to influence and support the engineering culture at American Airlines.
- Collaborate with teams, products, portfolios, or an entire org on reaching the next level of customer delivery leveraging technology and modern engineering practices.
- Be a mentor and getting hands on with other technical coaches, software engineers, technical leads, or architects on learning and applying modern architecture, DevOps and engineering practices to solve business problems.
- Design and develop facilitator-lead materials related to modern engineering practices.
- Bring your real-world software engineering experience to the enablement organization to help build a viable community of technical coaches and practitioners throughout the enterprise.
- Through coaching soft skills, build trust, evaluate team’s current practices/methodologies and recommend appropriate next steps to achieve modern engineering outcomes.
- Develop and influence learning strategies for software engineers, technical leads, architects, and other technical leaders.
- This list is intended to reflect the current job, but there may be additional essential functions (and certainly non-essential job functions) that are not referenced.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Required (At least 3 of the following):
- 6 years of software engineering and/or DevOps experience.
- 2 years of experience as a tech lead on a software engineering team.
- Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, computer engineering or related fields or equivalent work experience.
- Hands-on experience with engineering practices such as object-oriented design patterns, Extreme Programming, cloud design patterns, TDD, BDD, refactoring, automation, or continuous integration.
- Experience with implementing and operating DevOps tools/platforms across some part of the development lifecycle. These could include but may not be limited to Azure cloud computing, GitHub, Jenkins, Maven, Nexus, Hygieia, SonarQube, New Relic, or other similar tools.
- Proven experience in SQL and ability to design relational database schemas.
- Experience in coaching and mentoring others on various development, build, and deployment practices as well as DevOps principles.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience in multiple programming languages and IDE.
- Experience in designing and implementing automated test suites.
- Proven experience in web framework.
- Experience designing, implementing and using end to end Continuous Delivery pipelines.
- Deep infrastructure experience delivering and operating either virtualized on-premises or public cloud services in a large-scale production environment (for example: network, security, or deployment automation).
- Familiarity with microservices architecture.
- Experience delivering software using an agile methodology like Extreme Programming, Kanban, or Scrum.
SKILLS, LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS
- Ability to assess agility needs and make recommendations based on team, product, or portfolio needs.
- Ability to identify when/where flow of work is impeded and work with the team to remove those impediments.
- A growth mindset with enthusiasm for learning new technologies quickly and applying the gained knowledge to address business problems.
- Expert communication skills with teams and leaders at all levels.
- Ability to find creative ways of improving and simplifying solutions, systems, and processes without getting bogged down in blockers or bottlenecks.
WHAT YOU'LL GET
Feel free to take advantage of all that American Airlines has to offer:
- Travel Perks: Ready to explore the world? You, your family and your friends can reach 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights across our global network.
- Health Benefits: On day one, you’ll have access to your health, dental, prescription and vision benefits to help you stay well. And that’s just the start, we also offer virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts and more.
- Wellness Programs: We want you to be the best version of yourself – that’s why our wellness programs provide you with all the right tools, resources and support you need.
- 401(k) Program: Available upon hire and, depending on the workgroup, employer contributions to your 401(k) program are available after one year. Additional Benefits: Other great benefits include our Employee Assistance Program, pet insurance and discounts on hotels, cars, cruises and more.
FEEL FREE TO BE YOURSELF AT AMERICAN
From the team members we hire to the customers we serve, inclusion and diversity are the foundation of the dynamic workforce at American Airlines. Our 20+ Team Member Business Resource Groups are focused on connecting our team members to our customers, suppliers, communities and shareholders, helping team members reach their full potential and creating an inclusive work environment to meet and exceed the needs of our diverse world.
Are you ready to feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction as you do your part to keep the largest airline in the world running smoothly as we care for people on life’s journey? Feel free to be yourself at American.
See all 7,995+ OPT Principal Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Principal Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Principal Engineer
Lead with architectural impact, not just technical skill
Principal Engineers are hired to make system-level decisions, not just write code. Frame your experience around architectural tradeoffs you owned, systems you designed end-to-end, and the business outcomes those decisions drove at scale.
Confirm your role qualifies under STEM OPT
Principal Engineer positions in software, hardware, or systems engineering almost always qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. Verify your degree field matches the DHS STEM designated degree list before applying to extend your authorization window.
Target companies with established H-1B sponsorship track records
Senior technical roles are among the most commonly sponsored positions. Prioritize employers with a history of filing H-1B visa petitions for principal-level engineers, since they already have internal processes and legal counsel to support your transition off OPT.
Use your OPT timeline as a negotiating asset, not a liability
Employers hiring at the principal level are investing in long-term technical leadership. Framing your OPT status alongside your H-1B eligibility signals continuity. Most companies at this level expect to sponsor and will factor that into the offer process.
Demonstrate cross-functional ownership in your interviews
Principal Engineers are evaluated on how they align engineering decisions with product and business goals. Come prepared with examples of driving consensus across teams, influencing roadmaps, and navigating organizational complexity, not just technical problem-solving.
Time your job search around your OPT expiration and extension deadlines
Apply at least four to six months before your OPT end date. If you are pursuing a STEM extension, your employer must enroll in E-Verify. Confirming this early prevents gaps in work authorization that could disrupt onboarding at the senior level.
Principal Engineer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I work as a Principal Engineer on F-1 OPT?
Yes. F-1 OPT authorizes you to work in any role directly related to your degree field, and Principal Engineer positions in software, systems, or hardware engineering qualify for most STEM-aligned degrees. If your degree is on the DHS STEM designated list, you're also eligible for a 24-month STEM OPT extension, giving you up to three years total.
Do Principal Engineer roles qualify for the STEM OPT extension?
Principal Engineer roles in software engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and related fields almost always qualify for the STEM OPT extension. The key requirements are that your degree appears on the DHS STEM designated degree list, your employer is enrolled in E-Verify, and the job is directly related to your field of study. Most Principal Engineer positions at tech companies meet all three criteria.
How hard is it to find a Principal Engineer job that offers H-1B sponsorship?
Principal Engineer is one of the most sponsorship-friendly titles in tech. Employers hiring at this level are making a long-term investment in technical leadership, and most established tech companies already have H-1B sponsorship infrastructure in place. You can browse Principal Engineer roles filtered by OPT and H-1B sponsorship on Migrate Mate to focus your search on employers actively open to sponsoring international candidates.
What degree do I need to qualify for Principal Engineer OPT jobs?
Most Principal Engineer roles require a bachelor's degree at minimum in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field. A master's degree is common at this level, particularly at larger companies with defined engineering ladders. Your degree field needs to have a direct relationship to the job duties, which is straightforward for most engineering disciplines at this seniority level.
What should I do if my OPT expires before my H-1B is approved?
If you filed your H-1B petition before your OPT expired and your employer submitted on time for an October 1 start date, you may be eligible for a cap-gap extension that bridges the period between OPT expiration and the H-1B start date. Your DSO can issue an updated I-20 reflecting cap-gap status, which allows you to continue working. Confirm your employer understands this process, since Principal Engineer roles often involve time-sensitive project ownership that makes gaps particularly disruptive.