Science & Research Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California
California leads the nation in science and research innovation, with major employers like Genentech, Gilead Sciences, and Amgen sponsoring international talent. The state's biotech corridor spans from San Francisco to San Diego, while research institutions like Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Caltech create strong university-to-industry pipelines for visa sponsorship opportunities.
Find Science & Research JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 1,475+ Science & Research Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California
See all 1,475+ Science & Research Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Science & Research Visa Sponsorship Jobs in California.
Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world. We are a team of engineers, scientists, roboticists, and company builders developing foundation models and learning algorithms to power the robots of today and the physically-actuated devices of the future.
The team
This role is part of the Runtime team, but will include deep collaboration with the Research, Hardware, and Fleet teams.
In this role you will:
- Drive the architecture and implementation of embedded firmware for devices crucial to PI’s data collection goals
- Work with hardware and software teams to ensure the new devices we are building work seamlessly with existing and future data pipelines
- Embedded Linux System Bring-up: Lead the integration of embedded Linux devices with real-time sensor processing. This includes developing drivers for high-speed sensors, BSP development and customization, kernel configuration and debugging, hardware bring-up, and performance tuning across the hardware/software boundary.
- Hardware/Software Debugging: Use hardware abstraction tools and laboratory equipment to identify and resolve complex timing issues, race conditions, and hardware-software interface bugs.
- Power Optimization: Analyze and reduce power consumption for battery-operated devices, including on radio sleep states and sensor low-power modes.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- Strong software engineering and infrastructure skills, including building data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, and tools for rapid iteration.
- Comfort working hands-on with hardware.
- Strong communication skills for collaborating with hardware, software, and research teams.
- Demonstrated experience leading initiatives from concept to production on aggressive schedules, and turning ambiguous product goals into functional requirements.
- Experience leading initial board bring-up and software design for first-of-their-kind embedded devices.
- Hands-on experience with SPI, I2C, UART, USB, and the ability to debug complex hardware-software interactions.
- Experience architecting, implementing and debugging concurrent and multithreaded firmware services.
- Deep understanding of modern operating systems, computer architecture, and trade-offs between compute, memory, and storage.
- Experience bringing up and integrating sensors on embedded systems; camera system bring-up, integration, and tuning is a plus.
- Proficiency in C++.
- Familiarity with Bash scripting and Python for tooling and automation.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Nice to have: Direct experience with Linux Kernel development, including writing or debugging drivers, managing device trees, or optimizing kernel-space performance.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
INTRODUCTION
Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world. We are a team of engineers, scientists, roboticists, and company builders developing foundation models and learning algorithms to power the robots of today and the physically-actuated devices of the future.
The team
This role is part of the Runtime team, but will include deep collaboration with the Research, Hardware, and Fleet teams.
In this role you will:
- Drive the architecture and implementation of embedded firmware for devices crucial to PI’s data collection goals
- Work with hardware and software teams to ensure the new devices we are building work seamlessly with existing and future data pipelines
- Embedded Linux System Bring-up: Lead the integration of embedded Linux devices with real-time sensor processing. This includes developing drivers for high-speed sensors, BSP development and customization, kernel configuration and debugging, hardware bring-up, and performance tuning across the hardware/software boundary.
- Hardware/Software Debugging: Use hardware abstraction tools and laboratory equipment to identify and resolve complex timing issues, race conditions, and hardware-software interface bugs.
- Power Optimization: Analyze and reduce power consumption for battery-operated devices, including on radio sleep states and sensor low-power modes.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
- Strong software engineering and infrastructure skills, including building data pipelines, evaluation frameworks, and tools for rapid iteration.
- Comfort working hands-on with hardware.
- Strong communication skills for collaborating with hardware, software, and research teams.
- Demonstrated experience leading initiatives from concept to production on aggressive schedules, and turning ambiguous product goals into functional requirements.
- Experience leading initial board bring-up and software design for first-of-their-kind embedded devices.
- Hands-on experience with SPI, I2C, UART, USB, and the ability to debug complex hardware-software interactions.
- Experience architecting, implementing and debugging concurrent and multithreaded firmware services.
- Deep understanding of modern operating systems, computer architecture, and trade-offs between compute, memory, and storage.
- Experience bringing up and integrating sensors on embedded systems; camera system bring-up, integration, and tuning is a plus.
- Proficiency in C++.
- Familiarity with Bash scripting and Python for tooling and automation.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Nice to have: Direct experience with Linux Kernel development, including writing or debugging drivers, managing device trees, or optimizing kernel-space performance.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Science & Research Job Roles in California
See all 1,475+ Science & Research Jobs in California
Sign up for free to filter by visa type, set job alerts, and find employers with verified sponsorship history.
Search Science & Research Jobs in CaliforniaScience & Research Jobs in California: Frequently Asked Questions
Which science and research companies sponsor visas in California?
Major biotech companies like Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Amgen, and Regeneron actively sponsor H-1B visa and O-1 visas for research scientists. Tech giants including Google, Meta, and Apple sponsor data scientists and research engineers. Academic medical centers like UCSF and Cedars-Sinai, plus national labs like Lawrence Berkeley and JPL, also provide significant sponsorship opportunities for international researchers.
What visa types are most common for science and research roles in California?
H-1B visas dominate for research scientist, data scientist, and biostatistician positions requiring specialized knowledge. O-1 visas are increasingly common for senior researchers with distinguished publications or patents. J-1 visa research scholar visas serve postdocs at universities and research institutes. TN visas work for Canadian and Mexican scientists, while E-3 visas serve Australian researchers in specialty occupations.
Which California cities have the most science and research sponsorship jobs?
San Francisco and South Bay lead with biotech giants and tech companies sponsoring thousands of research positions annually. San Diego's biotech cluster around Torrey Pines offers extensive pharmaceutical research opportunities. Los Angeles provides aerospace research roles at companies like SpaceX and Northrop Grumman. Berkeley and Palo Alto benefit from university research partnerships and startup ecosystems.
How to find science & research visa sponsorship jobs in California?
Use Migrate Mate to browse verified sponsorship opportunities filtered specifically for California science and research roles. Target companies with established H-1B filing histories through DOL disclosure data. Network at conferences like AAAS Pacific Division or Biotech Week. University career centers at Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Caltech often have direct industry connections for international students and postdocs.
What should I know about prevailing wages for California science research sponsorship?
California's high cost of living drives prevailing wages significantly above national averages, particularly in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. DOL wage determinations often exceed $100,000 for research scientist positions. This benefits H-1B applications by reducing wage-based denial risks, but employers face higher labor costs. Biotech hubs like San Diego generally have more moderate prevailing wages than Bay Area tech companies.
What is the prevailing wage for sponsored science & research jobs in California?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.