STEM OPT Staff Software Engineer Jobs
Staff Software Engineer roles sit squarely within STEM OPT eligibility, typically requiring a computer science, software engineering, or related STEM degree. Your 24-month STEM OPT extension gives you up to 36 months total to build the sponsorship track record these senior roles demand, and every employer must be enrolled in E-Verify.
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LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, built to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Our products help people make powerful connections, discover exciting opportunities, build necessary skills, and gain valuable insights every day. We’re also committed to providing transformational opportunities for our own employees by investing in their growth. We aspire to create a culture that’s built on trust, care, inclusion, and fun – where everyone can succeed.
Join us to transform the way the world works.
Job Description
This role can be based in Bellevue, WA.
At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team.
This role is part of the Development infrastructure (DI) organization where you will get an opportunity to influence, transform, and create the next generation, agent centric, large scale, development infrastructure at LinkedIn. We are a data driven organization and you will lead strategic investments to make step function improvements in the lives of LinkedIn developers. This spans multiple areas including but not limited to: Providing tools and infrastructure that creates delightful development experiences for thousands of developers; Provide the environments where agents write, build, test, and publish code; Provide actionable insights that leverages data and metrics; and most importantly, deliver reliable and scalable infrastructure. You will have the opportunity to engage the industry-wide developer community and contribute to open-source software as well.
Responsibilities
- You will build and ship software at scale that delivers impact.
- You will improve all aspects of developer experience with a data driven mindset.
- You will design and build tools and frameworks to automate development, testing, deployment, management, monitoring, data gathering and analysis of our 24x7 services and products.
- You will develop and evangelize solutions to challenges faced by every product and infrastructure team at LinkedIn to improve developer happiness, productivity, and efficiency.
- You will scale the infrastructure and tools required to keep our 6000+ developers in step when they are all sharing the same code, building and testing our software stacks, and releasing and deploying their services continuously without compromising site reliability.
- You will provide technical leadership, driving and performing best engineering practices to initiate, plan, and execute critical, large-scale, cross-functional, and company-wide programs.
Basic Qualifications
- BA/BS Degree in Computer Science or related technical discipline, or related practical experience.
- 4+ years experience in software design, development, and algorithm related solutions.
- 4+ years programming experience in object-oriented programming languages such as Python, Java, Javascript, C/C++, C#, Objective-C.
Preferred Qualifications
- BS and 8+ years of relevant work experience, MS and 7+ years of relevant work experience, or PhD and 4+ years of relevant work experience
- Experience designing and building infrastructure and web services at large scale.
- Knowledge of Internet protocols and network programming.
- Experience working in a Unix environment (Linux preferred).
- Experience in large-scale distributed systems and client-server architectures.
- Experience in driving automated cloud management systems at scale.
- Experience in containerization, cluster schedulers, infrastructure configuration and orchestration.
- Experience in standard build tools (e.g. gradle, bazel) and version control systems (e.g. git).
- Experience in Python development using frameworks like Django, Flask, Jinja, SQLAlchemy.
- Knowledge and experience in Tomcat, Jetty, Netty, Apache/ATS, Scala/sbt, or Node.js.
- Experience in working with SQL/NoSQL databases (e.g. MySQL, Dynamo, Cassandra, MongoDB)
- Experience in messaging & big data systems/solutions (e.g. Spark, Presto, Alation, Hadoop, Kafka)
Suggested Skills
- Object-oriented programming
- Web services
- Infrastructure
You will Benefit from our Culture:
We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families. That is why we offer generous health and wellness programs and time away for employees of all levels.
LinkedIn is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.
The pay range for this role is $170,000 - $277,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.
The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans. For additional information, visit: https://careers.linkedin.com/benefits.
Additional Information
Equal Opportunity Statement
We seek candidates with a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. LinkedIn considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.
LinkedIn is committed to offering an inclusive and accessible experience for all job seekers, including individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to foster an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone has the opportunity to be successful.
If you need a Reasonable Accommodation to search for a job opening, apply for a position, or participate in the interview process, connect with us and describe the specific Accommodation requested for a disability-related limitation.
Fill out an Accommodation request here: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b660a0327d044969abfd7a4e73d15c36
Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the application or hiring process that would enable you to fully participate in that process. Examples of reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to:
- Documents in alternate formats or read aloud to you
- Having interviews in an accessible location
- Being accompanied by a service dog
- Having a sign language interpreter present for the interview
A request for an accommodation will be responded to within three business days. However, non-disability related requests, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.
LinkedIn will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by LinkedIn, or (c) consistent with LinkedIn's legal duty to furnish information.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, LinkedIn will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Pay Transparency Policy Statement
As a federal contractor, LinkedIn follows the Pay Transparency and non-discrimination provisions described at this link: https://lnkd.in/paytransparency.
Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates
Please follow this link to access the document that provides transparency around the way in which LinkedIn handles personal data of employees and job applicants: https://legal.linkedin.com/candidate-portal.
Company Description
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, built to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Our products help people make powerful connections, discover exciting opportunities, build necessary skills, and gain valuable insights every day. We’re also committed to providing transformational opportunities for our own employees by investing in their growth. We aspire to create a culture that’s built on trust, care, inclusion, and fun – where everyone can succeed.
Join us to transform the way the world works.
Job Description
This role can be based in Bellevue, WA.
At LinkedIn, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a LinkedIn office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team.
This role is part of the Development infrastructure (DI) organization where you will get an opportunity to influence, transform, and create the next generation, agent centric, large scale, development infrastructure at LinkedIn. We are a data driven organization and you will lead strategic investments to make step function improvements in the lives of LinkedIn developers. This spans multiple areas including but not limited to: Providing tools and infrastructure that creates delightful development experiences for thousands of developers; Provide the environments where agents write, build, test, and publish code; Provide actionable insights that leverages data and metrics; and most importantly, deliver reliable and scalable infrastructure. You will have the opportunity to engage the industry-wide developer community and contribute to open-source software as well.
Responsibilities
- You will build and ship software at scale that delivers impact.
- You will improve all aspects of developer experience with a data driven mindset.
- You will design and build tools and frameworks to automate development, testing, deployment, management, monitoring, data gathering and analysis of our 24x7 services and products.
- You will develop and evangelize solutions to challenges faced by every product and infrastructure team at LinkedIn to improve developer happiness, productivity, and efficiency.
- You will scale the infrastructure and tools required to keep our 6000+ developers in step when they are all sharing the same code, building and testing our software stacks, and releasing and deploying their services continuously without compromising site reliability.
- You will provide technical leadership, driving and performing best engineering practices to initiate, plan, and execute critical, large-scale, cross-functional, and company-wide programs.
Basic Qualifications
- BA/BS Degree in Computer Science or related technical discipline, or related practical experience.
- 4+ years experience in software design, development, and algorithm related solutions.
- 4+ years programming experience in object-oriented programming languages such as Python, Java, Javascript, C/C++, C#, Objective-C.
Preferred Qualifications
- BS and 8+ years of relevant work experience, MS and 7+ years of relevant work experience, or PhD and 4+ years of relevant work experience
- Experience designing and building infrastructure and web services at large scale.
- Knowledge of Internet protocols and network programming.
- Experience working in a Unix environment (Linux preferred).
- Experience in large-scale distributed systems and client-server architectures.
- Experience in driving automated cloud management systems at scale.
- Experience in containerization, cluster schedulers, infrastructure configuration and orchestration.
- Experience in standard build tools (e.g. gradle, bazel) and version control systems (e.g. git).
- Experience in Python development using frameworks like Django, Flask, Jinja, SQLAlchemy.
- Knowledge and experience in Tomcat, Jetty, Netty, Apache/ATS, Scala/sbt, or Node.js.
- Experience in working with SQL/NoSQL databases (e.g. MySQL, Dynamo, Cassandra, MongoDB)
- Experience in messaging & big data systems/solutions (e.g. Spark, Presto, Alation, Hadoop, Kafka)
Suggested Skills
- Object-oriented programming
- Web services
- Infrastructure
You will Benefit from our Culture:
We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families. That is why we offer generous health and wellness programs and time away for employees of all levels.
LinkedIn is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.
The pay range for this role is $170,000 - $277,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, certifications, and specific work location. This may be different in other locations due to differences in the cost of labor.
The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, stock, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans. For additional information, visit: https://careers.linkedin.com/benefits.
Additional Information
Equal Opportunity Statement
We seek candidates with a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. LinkedIn considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.
LinkedIn is committed to offering an inclusive and accessible experience for all job seekers, including individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to foster an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone has the opportunity to be successful.
If you need a Reasonable Accommodation to search for a job opening, apply for a position, or participate in the interview process, connect with us and describe the specific Accommodation requested for a disability-related limitation.
Fill out an Accommodation request here: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b660a0327d044969abfd7a4e73d15c36
Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the application or hiring process that would enable you to fully participate in that process. Examples of reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to:
- Documents in alternate formats or read aloud to you
- Having interviews in an accessible location
- Being accompanied by a service dog
- Having a sign language interpreter present for the interview
A request for an accommodation will be responded to within three business days. However, non-disability related requests, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.
LinkedIn will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by LinkedIn, or (c) consistent with LinkedIn's legal duty to furnish information.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, LinkedIn will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Pay Transparency Policy Statement
As a federal contractor, LinkedIn follows the Pay Transparency and non-discrimination provisions described at this link: https://lnkd.in/paytransparency.
Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates
Please follow this link to access the document that provides transparency around the way in which LinkedIn handles personal data of employees and job applicants: https://legal.linkedin.com/candidate-portal.
See all 493+ STEM OPT Staff Software Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new STEM OPT Staff Software Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding STEM OPT Authorization as a Staff Software Engineer
Verify your CIP code before applying
Check that your degree's Classification of Instructional Programs code maps to an approved STEM field through USCIS. Computer science, software engineering, and information systems degrees typically qualify, but interdisciplinary or business-adjacent STEM degrees sometimes require your DSO to confirm eligibility before you submit your STEM OPT extension.
Confirm E-Verify enrollment before accepting offers
Ask your recruiter for the company's E-Verify company ID or have HR pull their enrollment status directly from the E-Verify portal. A verbal assurance isn't enough. Staff-level roles often involve longer offer-to-start timelines, so catching a non-enrolled employer early prevents delays that could jeopardize your authorization window.
Benchmark your offer against prevailing wage data
Use the OFLC Wage Search to look up the Level III or Level IV prevailing wage for software developer roles in your metro area before negotiating. Staff Engineer titles frequently correspond to Level III or IV wage tiers, and understanding the DOL benchmark strengthens your position and signals H-1B visa readiness to future-focused employers.
Target employers with structured I-983 processes
Ask during interviews whether the company has filed training plans for OPT students before. Employers unfamiliar with the I-983 often delay or incorrectly complete it, which can create compliance gaps. Larger engineering organizations with dedicated HR immigration teams are more likely to have a repeatable process already in place.
Search Migrate Mate to filter Staff Engineer roles by E-Verify status
Filter your Staff Software Engineer job search on Migrate Mate to surface only employers already enrolled in E-Verify. This removes the manual verification step from hundreds of applications and lets you focus interview energy on companies structurally ready to support your STEM OPT authorization from day one.
File your STEM OPT extension at least 90 days early
USCIS allows you to apply for the 24-month STEM OPT extension up to 90 days before your initial OPT expires. Submitting early gives you a cap-gap buffer if you're transitioning into an H-1B sponsorship cycle and protects continuous work authorization during USCIS processing at senior-level offer timelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Staff Software Engineer role qualify for STEM OPT?
Yes, Staff Software Engineer is a STEM-designated occupation under DOL's Standard Occupational Classification system. Your eligibility depends on your degree's CIP code, not just the job title. Computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, and related STEM degrees qualify. Your DSO confirms your specific degree's eligibility and updates your I-20 before USCIS approves the 24-month extension.
What does the I-983 training plan require for a Staff Software Engineer?
The I-983 must document specific learning objectives tied to your STEM degree, a supervision structure, and how the role advances your technical training. For Staff Engineers, this typically means outlining system design responsibilities, mentorship of junior engineers, and technical domains covered. Your employer signs and retains the I-983, and your DSO must also sign before you begin the extension period.
How does cap-gap work if I'm a Staff Software Engineer on STEM OPT?
If your employer files an H-1B petition on your behalf before your STEM OPT expires and USCIS receives it by April 1, cap-gap automatically extends your work authorization through September 30. You can continue working at the Staff Engineer level during this period without any gap in authorization, as long as you remain with the same E-Verify-enrolled employer that filed the petition.
How do I find Staff Software Engineer employers enrolled in E-Verify?
Migrate Mate filters Staff Software Engineer job listings by E-Verify enrollment status, so you can focus on employers who are already structured to support STEM OPT authorization. E-Verify enrollment is a legal prerequisite for any employer hiring on STEM OPT, and verifying it before applying saves significant time late in the offer process.
Can I work at a startup as a Staff Software Engineer on STEM OPT?
Yes, but the startup must be enrolled in E-Verify before you begin working. Startups that have never sponsored a STEM OPT employee may not yet be enrolled. Confirm enrollment status directly with the hiring manager or HR contact, and build extra lead time into your offer negotiation so the company can complete E-Verify registration before your start date if needed.