STEM OPT Data Scientist Jobs
Data Scientist roles in machine learning, statistical modeling, and data engineering qualify for the STEM OPT extension when your degree is in a STEM-designated field. The 24-month extension gives you up to 36 months of work authorization, but your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify before you can start.
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The Buck Institute for Research on Aging is seeking a full-time Bioinformatics and Data Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher to join a collaborative research team focused on aging, multi-omics, computational biology, and translational data science. This position offers a unique opportunity to work in an academic research environment with a close-knit, interdisciplinary team while collaborating with leading experts in aging biology, bioinformatics, clinical research, and computational science. The successful candidate will contribute to a five-year government-funded project focused on advancing computational and multi-omics approaches to better understand human aging, biological resilience, and healthspan. This role will support broader nationwide efforts to develop data-driven approaches that may ultimately improve how aging and age-related disease risk are measured, modeled, and addressed. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in bioinformatics, statistics, computational biology, human omics data analysis, and scientific communication. The position is well suited for an independent, highly motivated scientist who enjoys working across disciplines and contributing to both discovery-driven and translational research.
Key Responsibilities
2. Analyze, curate, and manage research data
- Perform bioinformatics and data science analyses. The successful candidate will analyze diverse biological and clinical datasets, including but not limited to:
- Proteomics
- Metabolomics
- Methylomics
- Survey data
- Integrative multi-omics datasets
- Human biological aging and omics-clock data
- Drug repurposing analyses
- Enrichment and pathway analyses
- Dimensionality reduction and clustering
- Classification methods, including random forests and support vector machines
- Neural network-based approaches
- Simple and multiple linear regression
- Parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses
Responsibilities will include:
- Curating, organizing, and preparing data for analysis and upload to central repositories
- Supporting data harmonization across projects, cohorts, and collaborators in accordance with data use agreements
- Reviewing and improving standard operating procedures for data transfer, quality control, and management
- Coordinating with internal and external teams to ensure timely collection, transfer, and analysis of data
- Attending project meetings and contributing to improvements in data workflows, systems, and documentation
- Ensuring data quality, reproducibility, and compliance with project requirements
3. Collaborate with scientific and administrative teams
The candidate will work closely with staff members, research scientists, computational biologists, principal investigators, and external collaborators. Responsibilities may include:
- Contributing to grant applications, progress reports, and scientific proposals
- Supporting manuscript preparation and journal article writing
- Creating publication-quality figures, tables, and data visualizations
- Presenting analyses and findings to interdisciplinary research teams
- Helping translate complex computational results into clear biological and scientific interpretations
Qualifications
Required Education and Experience
- Strong background in both human biology and bioinformatics
- PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Data Science, Biostatistics, Systems Biology, Computer Science, or a related field
- Minimum of 2 years of professional experience in a biological, biomedical, or computational research environment
- Strong proficiency in R, Python, and Bash scripting
- Demonstrated experience analyzing biological or biomedical datasets
- Experience developing, implementing, and running bioinformatics workflows
Required Skills
- Strong analytical, mathematical, and creative problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team-based research environment
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks across concurrent projects
- Experience with reproducible data analysis practices and documentation
- Ability to communicate technical results to both computational and non-computational audiences
- Interest in applying large language models, agentic AI, or related computational tools to biomedical research workflows
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with FDA approval process
- Experience with building apps
Compensation And Benefits
- Salary range: $80,000–$85,000, commensurate with experience
- Full-time, onsite position
- Exciting, collaborative work environment at the forefront of aging research
- Opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies and interdisciplinary scientific teams
- Generous benefits package, including:
- Health insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Generous paid time off
- 401(k) with 5% employer match
- Work visa sponsorship available for qualified candidates
About The Buck Institute
Our success will ultimately change healthcare. At the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, we aim to end the threat of age-related diseases for this and future generations by bringing together the most capable and passionate scientists from a broad range of disciplines to identify and impede the ways in which we age. The Buck is an independent, nonprofit institution located in Marin County, California, with the goal of increasing human healthspan, or the healthy years of life. Globally recognized as a pioneer and leader in efforts to target aging — the number one risk factor for diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, macular degeneration, heart disease, and diabetes — the Buck seeks to help people live better longer. We are an equal opportunity employer and strive to create an atmosphere where diversity of identity, experience, and background are welcomed, valued, and supported. Candidates who contribute to this diversity are strongly encouraged to apply.
To Apply
Interested candidates should click the Apply button to complete the online application. Please upload both:
- Your CV
- A brief statement of research interests, including the names and contact information for three references
Position Summary
The Buck Institute for Research on Aging is seeking a full-time Bioinformatics and Data Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher to join a collaborative research team focused on aging, multi-omics, computational biology, and translational data science. This position offers a unique opportunity to work in an academic research environment with a close-knit, interdisciplinary team while collaborating with leading experts in aging biology, bioinformatics, clinical research, and computational science. The successful candidate will contribute to a five-year government-funded project focused on advancing computational and multi-omics approaches to better understand human aging, biological resilience, and healthspan. This role will support broader nationwide efforts to develop data-driven approaches that may ultimately improve how aging and age-related disease risk are measured, modeled, and addressed. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in bioinformatics, statistics, computational biology, human omics data analysis, and scientific communication. The position is well suited for an independent, highly motivated scientist who enjoys working across disciplines and contributing to both discovery-driven and translational research.
Key Responsibilities
2. Analyze, curate, and manage research data
- Perform bioinformatics and data science analyses. The successful candidate will analyze diverse biological and clinical datasets, including but not limited to:
- Proteomics
- Metabolomics
- Methylomics
- Survey data
- Integrative multi-omics datasets
- Human biological aging and omics-clock data
- Drug repurposing analyses
- Enrichment and pathway analyses
- Dimensionality reduction and clustering
- Classification methods, including random forests and support vector machines
- Neural network-based approaches
- Simple and multiple linear regression
- Parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses
Responsibilities will include:
- Curating, organizing, and preparing data for analysis and upload to central repositories
- Supporting data harmonization across projects, cohorts, and collaborators in accordance with data use agreements
- Reviewing and improving standard operating procedures for data transfer, quality control, and management
- Coordinating with internal and external teams to ensure timely collection, transfer, and analysis of data
- Attending project meetings and contributing to improvements in data workflows, systems, and documentation
- Ensuring data quality, reproducibility, and compliance with project requirements
3. Collaborate with scientific and administrative teams
The candidate will work closely with staff members, research scientists, computational biologists, principal investigators, and external collaborators. Responsibilities may include:
- Contributing to grant applications, progress reports, and scientific proposals
- Supporting manuscript preparation and journal article writing
- Creating publication-quality figures, tables, and data visualizations
- Presenting analyses and findings to interdisciplinary research teams
- Helping translate complex computational results into clear biological and scientific interpretations
Qualifications
Required Education and Experience
- Strong background in both human biology and bioinformatics
- PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, Data Science, Biostatistics, Systems Biology, Computer Science, or a related field
- Minimum of 2 years of professional experience in a biological, biomedical, or computational research environment
- Strong proficiency in R, Python, and Bash scripting
- Demonstrated experience analyzing biological or biomedical datasets
- Experience developing, implementing, and running bioinformatics workflows
Required Skills
- Strong analytical, mathematical, and creative problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team-based research environment
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Ability to prioritize and execute multiple tasks across concurrent projects
- Experience with reproducible data analysis practices and documentation
- Ability to communicate technical results to both computational and non-computational audiences
- Interest in applying large language models, agentic AI, or related computational tools to biomedical research workflows
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with FDA approval process
- Experience with building apps
Compensation And Benefits
- Salary range: $80,000–$85,000, commensurate with experience
- Full-time, onsite position
- Exciting, collaborative work environment at the forefront of aging research
- Opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies and interdisciplinary scientific teams
- Generous benefits package, including:
- Health insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Generous paid time off
- 401(k) with 5% employer match
- Work visa sponsorship available for qualified candidates
About The Buck Institute
Our success will ultimately change healthcare. At the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, we aim to end the threat of age-related diseases for this and future generations by bringing together the most capable and passionate scientists from a broad range of disciplines to identify and impede the ways in which we age. The Buck is an independent, nonprofit institution located in Marin County, California, with the goal of increasing human healthspan, or the healthy years of life. Globally recognized as a pioneer and leader in efforts to target aging — the number one risk factor for diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, macular degeneration, heart disease, and diabetes — the Buck seeks to help people live better longer. We are an equal opportunity employer and strive to create an atmosphere where diversity of identity, experience, and background are welcomed, valued, and supported. Candidates who contribute to this diversity are strongly encouraged to apply.
To Apply
Interested candidates should click the Apply button to complete the online application. Please upload both:
- Your CV
- A brief statement of research interests, including the names and contact information for three references
See all 254+ STEM OPT Data Scientist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT Data Scientist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Data Scientist
Confirm your CIP code before applying
Not every data-related degree qualifies for STEM OPT. Check your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code against the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. Statistics, computer science, and applied mathematics all qualify; general business analytics often does not.
Verify E-Verify enrollment before accepting offers
Your employer must be actively enrolled in E-Verify before your STEM OPT extension begins. Search the E-Verify employer search tool by company name and location before signing. A company that intends to enroll but hasn't yet cannot legally employ you under STEM OPT.
Target employers with active data science LCA filings
Companies that have filed Labor Condition Applications for data scientist or machine learning engineer roles have already navigated the DOL process for STEM workers. Use Migrate Mate to filter for employers with verified STEM OPT hiring history in your field.
Build your I-983 training plan before day one
Your I-983 must map specific job duties to the STEM learning objectives USCIS requires. For data scientists, tie modeling and pipeline work to measurable outcomes. DSOs routinely flag vague plans, so draft it with your hiring manager during the offer negotiation stage.
Apply 90 days before your OPT end date
USCIS requires your STEM OPT extension application to be filed at least 90 days before your current EAD expires. Late filing forfeits the extension window and breaks your work authorization, so align your job search timeline to that deadline.
Check prevailing wage levels for your target metro
Data scientist prevailing wages vary significantly by geography and experience level. Use the OFLC Wage Search to see DOL wage levels for your SOC code before negotiating an offer. An employer offering below Level I wages may face LCA compliance problems later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my degree qualify for the STEM OPT extension as a data scientist?
Your degree must appear on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List by its Classification of Instructional Programs code. Degrees in statistics, computer science, mathematics, and most engineering fields qualify. Applied data analytics or business intelligence degrees may not, depending on how your institution classified the program. Confirm the CIP code on your transcript or with your DSO before assuming eligibility.
Does my data scientist employer need to be enrolled in E-Verify?
Yes. E-Verify enrollment is a hard requirement for STEM OPT, not a preference. Your employer must be enrolled before your extension period starts, not at some point during your employment. You can verify enrollment through the E-Verify employer search. If your employer is a staffing agency placing you at a client site, both entities may need to be enrolled depending on who controls your day-to-day work.
What goes into the I-983 training plan for a data scientist role?
The I-983 must describe how your specific job duties produce practical training in your STEM field. For data scientists, that means documenting how work on model development, data pipelines, or statistical analysis connects to learning objectives tied to your degree. Vague descriptions like 'analyze data' get flagged. Your manager signs off, your DSO reviews it, and USCIS can audit it, so specificity matters from the start.
How does cap-gap protection work if I'm waiting for H-1B approval?
If your employer files an H-1B visa petition on your behalf before your OPT EAD expires and you're selected in the lottery, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30 of that fiscal year. You can continue working as a data scientist during this period without a new EAD. USCIS publishes cap-gap guidance each spring confirming the extension rules for that cycle.
Where can I find data scientist jobs at employers that hire STEM OPT students?
Migrate Mate filters data scientist listings by employers with verified E-Verify enrollment and STEM OPT hiring history, so you're not applying to companies that can't legally bring you on. This matters because many job postings don't disclose E-Verify status upfront, and finding out after an offer wastes weeks of your authorization window.