AI and Machine Learning Jobs for OPT Students

Yes. OPT needs no sponsorship, and 252 entry-level US AI and machine learning roles that do not rule out sponsorship are open on Real Analyst Jobs as of 15 November 2026, at 80 companies. 230 (91%) are at employers with a USCIS H-1B record (USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, FY2023 to FY2026, data as of 2026-09-30). An H-1B record is the employer's history, not a promise for this role. The most are at TikTok (113), Applied Intuition (12) and SpaceX (11). By location: California (146), Washington (39) and Texas (16), and 9 fully remote. 89 of the 252 roles list yearly pay in US dollars; the median midpoint of the listed ranges is $179K, and the middle half runs from $152K to $205K. 44 more entry-level postings say they will not sponsor; they are left off this list and shown, last, on the entry level page. 162 are at employers listed as enrolled in E-Verify, which a STEM OPT extension needs; confirm the hiring site with the employer.

No. OPT is work authorization of its own, so an employer does not have to sponsor you to hire you on it, as long as the role relates to your degree. Sponsorship matters later, for an H-1B.

Only if the employer is enrolled in E-Verify and signs a training plan with you (Form I-983). 162 of the 252 roles here are at employers we matched by name to E-Verify's public employer list as of 6 November 2026. Employers choose which hiring sites use E-Verify, so confirm the site you would join and check the company's E-Verify number on your Form I-983. No data means we could not match the employer, not that it is not enrolled. Whether your degree qualifies for STEM OPT is for your school's DSO to confirm.

Today: TikTok, Applied Intuition, SpaceX, Amazon, Nuro and Deepgram. An H-1B record here means the employer has approved H-1B workers on file with USCIS (FY2023 to FY2026). An H-1B record is the employer's history, not a promise for this role.

No. An H-1B record here means the employer has approved H-1B workers on file with USCIS (FY2023 to FY2026). An H-1B record is the employer's history, not a promise for this role. Where a posting says it will not sponsor, believe the posting.

89 of the 252 roles (35%) state pay in the posting, in the employer's own words and currency.

By the postings themselves: 89 of the 252 roles list yearly pay in US dollars. The median midpoint of the listed ranges is $179K, and the middle half runs from $152K to $205K. This is pay the employers list, not an offer: what one hire is paid depends on level, location and the employer.

Roles whose title names AI or machine learning work: ML engineer, AI engineer, LLM and generative AI engineer, MLOps and AI platform, applied and research scientist in AI, forward deployed engineer, AI product manager, AI infrastructure and AI data engineer. Front-end, mobile, design and sales roles are left out even when the team works on AI. Analyst roles with AI in the title stay on the analyst board.

Roles are read daily from the employers' own career pages and the page updates every hour. H-1B approvals come from the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub (data as of 2026-09-30), matched by company name. What a posting says about sponsorship is read from its own text. Reposting sites are left out. Nothing is estimated.