OPT Production Engineer Jobs
Production Engineer jobs are a strong fit for F-1 OPT students with degrees in industrial, mechanical, or manufacturing engineering. Most roles qualify as STEM OPT, giving you up to 36 months of work authorization. Employers in automotive, semiconductor, and consumer goods manufacturing actively hire and sponsor international engineers at this level.
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Georgia-Pacific, LLC is now hiring a Production Supervisor for our Jonestown Mailer's facility. The ideal candidate will be a self-driven individual with a passion for excellence in Safety, Continuous Improvement, Manufacturing, and Customer Focus. It's the perfect opportunity for someone on a steep growth trajectory who is ready to stretch a little.
Schedule: Dupont Schedule. 7:00 to 7:00 schedule rotating between days and night.
Our Team
Georgia-Pacific's Mailers is a part of the Packaging and Cellulose business, the Mailers business is expanding its product lines, working with key customers to create and launch one or more new products to complement our already thriving recyclable padded mailer business. This facility is climatized and has state of the art equipment.
Come join our team! To learn more about this facility and our Packaging division, please visit: www.gppackaging.com
Watch a short 60 sec video to see what we do at Mailers: How We Make Mailers | Georgia-Pacific - YouTube
What You Will Do
- Lead an operating team in compliance in safety, health, environmental, and quality
- Foster a culture based on our Principle Based Management (PBM®) Philosophy
- Drive safety excellence through promoting employee involvement, ownership, and accountability to proactively identify hazards and implement appropriate mitigating strategies; investigate incidents and participate in resolution of causes
- Coach, train, and develop operations personnel in safety, quality, and production
- Ensure best practices are followed for minimization of waste at machine centers
- Address key issues and concerns and interact with employees from other departments to ensure quality, on-time production
- Own the production process and accountability and follow through with the Production, Quality, Shipping, Maintenance teams
- Provide leadership and support across all functions in the facility
- Actively engage in continuous improvement activities and leveraging expertise of capability groups within Georgia-Pacific
- Plan, assign and direct work for all hourly production employees; appraise performance and provide feedback as needed; assist in resolving complaints; hold employees accountable as needed; communicate issues and results on a daily basis
Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)
- Experience supervising employees within a manufacturing, production, industrial OR military environment.
- Must be flexible; willing and able to work a rotating shift (working nights, weekends & holidays as needed).
What Will Put You Ahead
- Bachelor's degree or higher.
- Experience managing print & converting or packaging production operations.
At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.
Hiring Philosophy
All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.
Who We Are
As a Koch company and a leading manufacturer of bath tissue, paper towels, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products and much more, Georgia-Pacific works to meet evolving needs of customers worldwide with quality products. In addition to the products we make, we operate one of the largest recycling businesses. Our more than 30,000 employees in over 150 locations are empowered to innovate every day - to make everyday products even better.
At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.
Our Benefits
Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.
Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).
Your Job
Georgia-Pacific, LLC is now hiring a Production Supervisor for our Jonestown Mailer's facility. The ideal candidate will be a self-driven individual with a passion for excellence in Safety, Continuous Improvement, Manufacturing, and Customer Focus. It's the perfect opportunity for someone on a steep growth trajectory who is ready to stretch a little.
Schedule: Dupont Schedule. 7:00 to 7:00 schedule rotating between days and night.
Our Team
Georgia-Pacific's Mailers is a part of the Packaging and Cellulose business, the Mailers business is expanding its product lines, working with key customers to create and launch one or more new products to complement our already thriving recyclable padded mailer business. This facility is climatized and has state of the art equipment.
Come join our team! To learn more about this facility and our Packaging division, please visit: www.gppackaging.com
Watch a short 60 sec video to see what we do at Mailers: How We Make Mailers | Georgia-Pacific - YouTube
What You Will Do
- Lead an operating team in compliance in safety, health, environmental, and quality
- Foster a culture based on our Principle Based Management (PBM®) Philosophy
- Drive safety excellence through promoting employee involvement, ownership, and accountability to proactively identify hazards and implement appropriate mitigating strategies; investigate incidents and participate in resolution of causes
- Coach, train, and develop operations personnel in safety, quality, and production
- Ensure best practices are followed for minimization of waste at machine centers
- Address key issues and concerns and interact with employees from other departments to ensure quality, on-time production
- Own the production process and accountability and follow through with the Production, Quality, Shipping, Maintenance teams
- Provide leadership and support across all functions in the facility
- Actively engage in continuous improvement activities and leveraging expertise of capability groups within Georgia-Pacific
- Plan, assign and direct work for all hourly production employees; appraise performance and provide feedback as needed; assist in resolving complaints; hold employees accountable as needed; communicate issues and results on a daily basis
Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)
- Experience supervising employees within a manufacturing, production, industrial OR military environment.
- Must be flexible; willing and able to work a rotating shift (working nights, weekends & holidays as needed).
What Will Put You Ahead
- Bachelor's degree or higher.
- Experience managing print & converting or packaging production operations.
At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.
Hiring Philosophy
All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here.
Who We Are
As a Koch company and a leading manufacturer of bath tissue, paper towels, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, building products and much more, Georgia-Pacific works to meet evolving needs of customers worldwide with quality products. In addition to the products we make, we operate one of the largest recycling businesses. Our more than 30,000 employees in over 150 locations are empowered to innovate every day - to make everyday products even better.
At Koch, employees are empowered to do what they do best to make life better. Learn how our business philosophy helps employees unleash their potential while creating value for themselves and the company.
Our Benefits
Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.
Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.
Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. Except where prohibited by state law, some offers of employment are conditioned upon successfully passing a drug test. This employer uses E-Verify. Please click here for additional information. (For Illinois E-Verify information click here, aquí, or tu).
See all 597+ OPT Production Engineer Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Production Engineer
Target STEM-designated employers early
Production Engineer roles almost always fall under STEM OPT extensions, but confirm your degree and job duties align with the STEM designation. Start your employer search at least three months before your initial OPT expires to avoid authorization gaps.
Emphasize process improvement experience
Employers sponsoring OPT workers want proven ROI. Quantify your Lean, Six Sigma, or kaizen contributions in your resume. Specific metrics like cycle time reduction or defect rate improvement make your application stand out against candidates without work authorization complexity.
Focus on manufacturing-heavy industries
Automotive, semiconductor, aerospace, and medical device companies hire Production Engineers in volume and have established immigration infrastructure. These employers are far more likely to have HR teams experienced with OPT paperwork and eventual H-1B visa sponsorship pathways.
Clarify your authorization timeline upfront
Be direct with recruiters about your OPT end date and STEM extension eligibility. Production Engineer hiring cycles can run 8 to 12 weeks. Starting the conversation early prevents surprises and signals professionalism to employers unfamiliar with F-1 work authorization rules.
Align your job duties to your degree field
STEM OPT approval requires your job to be directly related to your major. If your degree is in industrial engineering, ensure your offer letter reflects production systems, process optimization, or manufacturing operations, not general operations management, which may not qualify.
Build your DSO relationship before you need it
Your Designated School Official must authorize your OPT and any STEM extension. Introduce yourself before deadlines arrive, keep them updated on job offers, and give them at least 90 days to process your STEM extension I-983 training plan with your employer.
Production Engineer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Production Engineer jobs qualify for STEM OPT extension?
Most Production Engineer roles qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension if your degree is in engineering, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, or a related STEM field. The job duties must be directly tied to your major. Your employer also needs to be enrolled in E-Verify, which most mid-size and large manufacturers already are. Confirm the connection between your degree and the specific role before filing.
How long does OPT authorization last for Production Engineer positions?
Initial OPT gives you 12 months of work authorization after graduation. If your degree qualifies as STEM and your Production Engineer role is directly related to it, you can apply for a 24-month STEM extension, giving you up to 36 months total. You must apply for the extension before your initial OPT expires, and your employer must sign a formal training plan on Form I-983.
What types of companies hire Production Engineers on OPT?
Automotive manufacturers, semiconductor fabs, aerospace suppliers, consumer electronics companies, and medical device firms are among the most active hirers of Production Engineers on OPT. These industries operate at scale and tend to have HR teams experienced with international hiring. You can browse OPT-friendly Production Engineer openings on Migrate Mate, which filters for employers open to sponsoring F-1 students.
Can I work as a Production Engineer at a startup on OPT?
Yes, but there are practical risks. Startups must be enrolled in E-Verify for you to qualify for the STEM OPT extension, and many early-stage companies are not. Startups also have less capacity to manage I-983 training plan requirements or support future H-1B sponsorship. If you join a startup, verify E-Verify enrollment before accepting and discuss the H-1B pathway directly with the founding team.
What is the I-983 training plan and why does it matter for Production Engineers?
The I-983 is a formal document your employer and DSO must complete to approve your STEM OPT extension. It outlines your learning objectives, how your Production Engineer duties relate to your degree, and how your employer will supervise and evaluate you. USCIS can audit these plans, so vague or generic descriptions of your role create risk. Your employer's HR or legal team should treat it as a compliance document, not a formality.