Welder Jobs for OPT Students
Welder jobs on OPT are available across manufacturing, construction, and energy sectors, with many employers filing H-2B or H-1B sponsorship for skilled tradespeople. STEM OPT does not apply to welding roles, so standard 12-month OPT authorization is the relevant window for most F-1 students pursuing this path.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.
We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.
We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.
If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.
ABOUT THIS ROLE:
Join Crusoe Energy as a skilled Welder and play a crucial role in fabricating and assembling metal components for our innovative projects. You will utilize your expertise in various welding techniques, including MIG and TIG, to ensure high-quality welds that meet strict specifications and blueprints. Your work will directly contribute to the structural integrity and functionality of our equipment. You'll be involved in interpreting blueprints, laying out parts, and performing quality inspections to maintain our high standards. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented team player with a strong work ethic and a commitment to safety. This is a full-time position.
WHAT YOU’LL BE WORKING ON:
-
Core Welding Operations: MIG and TIG weld steel, aluminum, and stainless steel components according to blueprints and specifications.
-
Blueprint Interpretation: Read and understand blueprints or product specifications prior to starting projects.
-
Fabrication and Assembly: Accurately lay out parts, assemble, and make appropriate welds based on specifications.
-
Quality Assurance: Observe tests on welded surfaces to evaluate weld quality and conformance to specifications, and perform personal or coordinated quality inspections.
-
Safety and Maintenance: Ensure work is done safely, maintain a clean and organized work area, and properly care for all equipment.
-
Team & Departmental Collaboration: Work with team members to maximize productivity and efficiency. Also may require occasional cross-functional work with operating team including machine operation.
-
Physical Tasks: Lift raw materials, final products, and items manually (up to 60 pounds).
WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TEAM:
-
Welding Experience: 2 to 10+ years of working experience as a welder.
-
Welding Proficiency: Strong knowledge of all types of welding processes, with skills in Spot, MIG, and TIG welding preferred.
-
Material Knowledge: Familiarity with stainless and mild steel.
-
Fabrication Skills: Capable of working with tube or channel to fabricate trailers.
-
Physical Requirements: Ability to lift, lower, push, and pull all sizes of merchandise up to 50 lbs, and ability to stand, walk, stoop, and bend for 8 hours or more daily.
-
Detail Orientation: Must be detail-oriented.
-
Education: High school diploma or GED.
BONUS POINTS:
-
Any specialized welding certifications.
-
Experience working with exotic metals or advanced alloys.
-
Extensive experience fabricating trailers.
-
Experience working with automated welding equipment.
-
Experience with formal quality inspection processes.
BENEFITS:
-
Competitive compensation
-
Restricted Stock Units
-
Paid time off & paid holidays
-
Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
-
Employer contributions to HSA account
-
Paid parental leave
-
Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
-
Professional development & tuition reimbursement
-
Mental health & wellness support
-
Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
-
Cell phone stipend
-
401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
-
Volunteer time off
COMPENSATION:
Compensation will be paid in the range of $20 - $34 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.
INTRODUCTION
Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.
We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.
We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.
If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.
ABOUT THIS ROLE:
Join Crusoe Energy as a skilled Welder and play a crucial role in fabricating and assembling metal components for our innovative projects. You will utilize your expertise in various welding techniques, including MIG and TIG, to ensure high-quality welds that meet strict specifications and blueprints. Your work will directly contribute to the structural integrity and functionality of our equipment. You'll be involved in interpreting blueprints, laying out parts, and performing quality inspections to maintain our high standards. The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented team player with a strong work ethic and a commitment to safety. This is a full-time position.
WHAT YOU’LL BE WORKING ON:
-
Core Welding Operations: MIG and TIG weld steel, aluminum, and stainless steel components according to blueprints and specifications.
-
Blueprint Interpretation: Read and understand blueprints or product specifications prior to starting projects.
-
Fabrication and Assembly: Accurately lay out parts, assemble, and make appropriate welds based on specifications.
-
Quality Assurance: Observe tests on welded surfaces to evaluate weld quality and conformance to specifications, and perform personal or coordinated quality inspections.
-
Safety and Maintenance: Ensure work is done safely, maintain a clean and organized work area, and properly care for all equipment.
-
Team & Departmental Collaboration: Work with team members to maximize productivity and efficiency. Also may require occasional cross-functional work with operating team including machine operation.
-
Physical Tasks: Lift raw materials, final products, and items manually (up to 60 pounds).
WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO THE TEAM:
-
Welding Experience: 2 to 10+ years of working experience as a welder.
-
Welding Proficiency: Strong knowledge of all types of welding processes, with skills in Spot, MIG, and TIG welding preferred.
-
Material Knowledge: Familiarity with stainless and mild steel.
-
Fabrication Skills: Capable of working with tube or channel to fabricate trailers.
-
Physical Requirements: Ability to lift, lower, push, and pull all sizes of merchandise up to 50 lbs, and ability to stand, walk, stoop, and bend for 8 hours or more daily.
-
Detail Orientation: Must be detail-oriented.
-
Education: High school diploma or GED.
BONUS POINTS:
-
Any specialized welding certifications.
-
Experience working with exotic metals or advanced alloys.
-
Extensive experience fabricating trailers.
-
Experience working with automated welding equipment.
-
Experience with formal quality inspection processes.
BENEFITS:
-
Competitive compensation
-
Restricted Stock Units
-
Paid time off & paid holidays
-
Comprehensive health, dental & vision insurance
-
Employer contributions to HSA account
-
Paid parental leave
-
Paid life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
-
Professional development & tuition reimbursement
-
Mental health & wellness support
-
Commuter benefits (parking & transit)
-
Cell phone stipend
-
401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salary
-
Volunteer time off
COMPENSATION:
Compensation will be paid in the range of $20 - $34 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.
Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.
How to Get Visa Sponsorship as a Welder
Target industrial manufacturers and fabrication shops
Large-scale manufacturers and structural fabrication companies hire welders in volume and are more likely to have HR infrastructure for work authorization. Focus your search on employers with 50 or more employees who regularly hire skilled tradespeople.
Highlight your AWS or other welding certifications upfront
Certifications from the American Welding Society signal job-readiness to employers unfamiliar with OPT. Listing your certification code and date prominently on your resume removes the most common reason hiring managers pass on international candidates before the first call.
Address OPT authorization early in the conversation
Employers in skilled trades are often unfamiliar with F-1 OPT. Explain clearly that you have existing work authorization, require no sponsorship to start, and that your EAD card is the only document they need to verify employment eligibility during your OPT period.
Focus on sectors with consistent workforce shortages
Aerospace, shipbuilding, and pipeline construction face persistent welder shortages, making employers in these industries more willing to invest in sponsorship after your OPT period ends. Starting in a shortage sector improves your long-term immigration options significantly.
Ask about H-2B or sponsorship pathways before accepting an offer
OPT lasts 12 months for welding roles, so it is worth asking a prospective employer whether they have sponsored workers before. Companies with prior sponsorship experience are far more likely to support you when your OPT authorization approaches its end date.
Use Migrate Mate to find OPT-friendly welder openings
Migrate Mate filters job listings by sponsorship history and OPT compatibility, saving you the time of screening employers manually. Browsing roles on Migrate Mate narrows your search to companies already familiar with hiring international workers in skilled trades positions.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students legally work as welders in the United States?
Yes. F-1 students with an approved EAD card can work as welders during their OPT period. Welding is not a STEM-designated field, so the standard 12-month OPT window applies. Your EAD is your work authorization document and satisfies I-9 requirements with any employer.
Does welding qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension?
No. Welding and most skilled trades programs do not fall under STEM-designated CIP codes recognized by DHS, so the 24-month STEM OPT extension is not available for this role. F-1 students working as welders on OPT have a 12-month authorization window, after which they need employer-sponsored status such as H-2B or H-1B to continue working legally.
What visa options exist after OPT expires for welders?
The most common path for welders after OPT is H-2B, a temporary nonimmigrant visa for non-agricultural workers in occupations with demonstrated labor shortages. H-1B is theoretically available but requires a specialty occupation degree nexus that is difficult to establish for welding roles. Some employers with ongoing labor needs sponsor EB-3 green cards for skilled tradespeople, though this process takes significantly longer.
How do I find welder employers who are open to hiring OPT workers?
Migrate Mate is the most direct way to find welder jobs posted by employers familiar with OPT and international hiring. Beyond that, targeting large industrial manufacturers, energy contractors, and shipbuilding companies gives you the best odds, as these sectors hire welders in volume and are more experienced navigating work authorization requirements than smaller fabrication shops.
Do I need to tell a welding employer I am on OPT before they make an offer?
You are not legally required to disclose your immigration status before receiving a job offer, but most immigration attorneys recommend being upfront with employers in skilled trades, who may be unfamiliar with OPT. Framing it clearly that you already have work authorization and need no employer action to start reduces friction and avoids surprises during the I-9 verification process.
See which Welder employers are hiring and sponsoring visas right now.
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