Technical Recruiter Jobs for OPT Students
Technical Recruiter roles are a strong fit for OPT students with backgrounds in human resources, business, or communications. Many employers hire recruiters on OPT without requiring H-1B sponsorship, and the role's direct tie to workforce strategy makes it a clear specialty occupation for USCIS purposes.
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Get Access To All JobsAbout Edra
Edra is solving one of the hardest problems in enterprise AI: AI models are generic but company processes are specific. We build AI agents that learn how processes actually run, and then run their operations.
We're a Series A startup, backed by Sequoia and other leading VC firms, and we're growing our team in New York and London. We're a deeply technical team of engineers, AI researchers, and strategists with a high bar for talent and a shared belief that exceptional people are the foundation of everything great we'll build.
The Role
We’re hiring our first recruiter–someone to serve as a builder of Edra’s talent engine. This is a hands-on role that will build the foundation of Edra’s talent acquisition motion, including owning in-the-weeds sourcing and foundational recruiting ops.
You’ll partner directly with the Founders and founding engineers to hire exceptional technical talent, build scalable recruiting processes, and craft a hiring culture that reflects our values of technical excellence, rigor, and drive.
Sourcing exceptional top-of-funnel talent is our number one priority, and will be the primary indicator of success in this role at the start. We expect the person in this role to hold strong opinions about the best way to drive this outcome, and to own execution hands-on.
What You’ll Do
- Source exceptional talent: quickly understand our hiring profiles and fill top of funnel with strong candidates in both New York and London markets
- Lead early hiring: partner with Founders and hiring managers to recruit world-class engineers and technical talent across disciplines
- Build the recruiting stack: design and implement recruiting operations from scratch, including ATS setup (Ashby), sourcing/CRM systems, interview loops, and candidate experience
- Run RecOps: keep our hiring machine moving, and help our hiring teams go from first intro to accepted offer fast and frictionlessly
- Scale yourself: as we continue to grow and ramp hiring, scale recruiting to support ongoing hiring needs (with a bias towards leveraging AI tooling to scale your impact before scaling the team)
- Sell the opportunity: sell Edra’s mission and opportunity to candidates, ensuring they leave every interaction more excited than when they came in
- Shape our early talent philosophy: define how we hire, ensuring a consistent, fair, and high-bar interview process that optimizes speed to hire and reflects a strong employer brand
What We’re Looking For
- Experience: 4+ years of professional experience, with some experience sourcing & recruiting talent for top-tier tech orgs (even better if you have experience across both US & UK)
- Technical fluency: you speak engineer (maybe you even have a CS degree), and have experience recruiting for complex engineering roles
- Interviewing expertise: you’re a skilled interviewer who can screen candidates thoughtfully to make sure our engineers are talking to the best of the best
- Builder mindset: you’ve built or rebuilt recruiting systems, processes, and teams from the ground up
- Hands-on operational chops: you’re comfortable with running recruiting ops, and building out the tooling needed to support your function and scale operations
A Few Details
Edra is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Edra does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.
About Edra
Edra is solving one of the hardest problems in enterprise AI: AI models are generic but company processes are specific. We build AI agents that learn how processes actually run, and then run their operations.
We're a Series A startup, backed by Sequoia and other leading VC firms, and we're growing our team in New York and London. We're a deeply technical team of engineers, AI researchers, and strategists with a high bar for talent and a shared belief that exceptional people are the foundation of everything great we'll build.
The Role
We’re hiring our first recruiter–someone to serve as a builder of Edra’s talent engine. This is a hands-on role that will build the foundation of Edra’s talent acquisition motion, including owning in-the-weeds sourcing and foundational recruiting ops.
You’ll partner directly with the Founders and founding engineers to hire exceptional technical talent, build scalable recruiting processes, and craft a hiring culture that reflects our values of technical excellence, rigor, and drive.
Sourcing exceptional top-of-funnel talent is our number one priority, and will be the primary indicator of success in this role at the start. We expect the person in this role to hold strong opinions about the best way to drive this outcome, and to own execution hands-on.
What You’ll Do
- Source exceptional talent: quickly understand our hiring profiles and fill top of funnel with strong candidates in both New York and London markets
- Lead early hiring: partner with Founders and hiring managers to recruit world-class engineers and technical talent across disciplines
- Build the recruiting stack: design and implement recruiting operations from scratch, including ATS setup (Ashby), sourcing/CRM systems, interview loops, and candidate experience
- Run RecOps: keep our hiring machine moving, and help our hiring teams go from first intro to accepted offer fast and frictionlessly
- Scale yourself: as we continue to grow and ramp hiring, scale recruiting to support ongoing hiring needs (with a bias towards leveraging AI tooling to scale your impact before scaling the team)
- Sell the opportunity: sell Edra’s mission and opportunity to candidates, ensuring they leave every interaction more excited than when they came in
- Shape our early talent philosophy: define how we hire, ensuring a consistent, fair, and high-bar interview process that optimizes speed to hire and reflects a strong employer brand
What We’re Looking For
- Experience: 4+ years of professional experience, with some experience sourcing & recruiting talent for top-tier tech orgs (even better if you have experience across both US & UK)
- Technical fluency: you speak engineer (maybe you even have a CS degree), and have experience recruiting for complex engineering roles
- Interviewing expertise: you’re a skilled interviewer who can screen candidates thoughtfully to make sure our engineers are talking to the best of the best
- Builder mindset: you’ve built or rebuilt recruiting systems, processes, and teams from the ground up
- Hands-on operational chops: you’re comfortable with running recruiting ops, and building out the tooling needed to support your function and scale operations
A Few Details
Edra is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Edra does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.
How to Get Visa Sponsorship as a Technical Recruiter
Target staffing firms and RPO providers first
Staffing agencies and recruitment process outsourcing firms hire recruiters in high volume and have established OPT onboarding workflows. They're more likely to have HR teams familiar with work authorization than smaller companies hiring their first recruiter.
Frame your degree field explicitly in applications
OPT authorization requires your job to relate to your degree. A human resources, business, or psychology degree maps cleanly to technical recruiting. State that connection explicitly in your cover letter so hiring managers don't flag it as an issue.
Highlight any ATS or sourcing tool experience
Employers evaluating technical recruiter candidates look for hands-on familiarity with applicant tracking systems and sourcing methods. Even academic projects or internship exposure to recruiting tools strengthens your candidacy and signals you can contribute immediately.
Ask about OPT early, not at the offer stage
Raising work authorization late in the process wastes everyone's time. Mention your OPT status and authorized work period in your first recruiter screen so employers can confirm willingness before both sides invest further in the process.
Pursue roles with a defined requisition focus
Technical recruiting roles scoped to engineering, IT, or data hiring have a clearer specialty occupation argument than generalist HR roles. A defined technical focus strengthens your USCIS eligibility case if you later apply for H-1B sponsorship.
Track your OPT end date against hiring timelines
Corporate recruiting processes average six to eight weeks from application to offer. If you have fewer than four months of OPT remaining, prioritize employers who explicitly support STEM OPT extensions or have sponsored H-1B visas for recruiters before.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does a Technical Recruiter role qualify as a specialty occupation for OPT?
Yes, provided your degree is in a related field such as human resources, business administration, communications, or psychology. USCIS requires that your job be directly tied to your major area of study. Technical Recruiter roles at companies that formally require a bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline meet this threshold. Avoid roles where the posting lists a degree as preferred rather than required, as that can undermine the specialty occupation argument.
Can I work as a Technical Recruiter on STEM OPT extension?
Yes, if your undergraduate or graduate degree falls under a STEM-designated field and your employer meets the E-Verify requirement. Business analytics, information systems, and certain HR technology programs are STEM-designated. You'll also need a formal training plan filed with your DSO. If your degree is in a non-STEM field like communications or general business, you're limited to the standard 12-month OPT period.
Where can I find Technical Recruiter jobs that are open to OPT candidates?
Migrate Mate lists Technical Recruiter roles filtered specifically for F-1 OPT students, so you're not sorting through hundreds of postings that require permanent work authorization. Employers listed there have either sponsored visas previously or indicated openness to OPT candidates, which removes a significant layer of guesswork from your job search.
Will employers sponsor H-1B visas for Technical Recruiters after OPT ends?
Some do, particularly large enterprises and staffing firms with established immigration programs, but it's less consistent than in engineering or software roles. The H-1B specialty occupation requirement applies here too, so your employer needs to be willing to document that the role requires a specific bachelor's degree. Ask directly during the interview process whether the company has sponsored H-1B visas for recruiter positions in the past.
What happens to my OPT authorization if I switch from one recruiting role to another?
Your OPT authorization remains valid as long as your new role still relates to your degree field and you report the employer change to your DSO within 10 days. You don't need to reapply for OPT when changing employers. However, if you have a gap between jobs exceeding your allowed unemployment days (90 days for standard OPT), it can jeopardize your status, so time transitions carefully.
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