Pediatric Occupational Therapist

Center for Developing Minds; Los Gatos (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Center for Developing Minds is seeking a Pediatric Occupational Therapist to design and deliver individualized, play-driven care for children aged 1–10 with developmental challenges. You’ll collaborate with developmental pediatricians and educators in real-time to tailor interventions beyond routine templates.

You will run 1:1 and small-group sessions, lead weekly groups, and develop comprehensive treatment plans that involve families, schools, and communities.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in OT and California license required.
• Minimum 3 years working with children with developmental needs, incl. 2 years with autism under 6.
• Experience running therapy groups for children or parents preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide 1:1 and small-group OT with feeding, sensory integration, toileting support, adaptive skills.
• Lead weekly small-group sessions (2–5 children) for social communication, regulation, behavior, attention, play.
• Conduct formal OT evaluations and informal assessments across cognitive, social-emotional, motor, communication, and adaptive domains.
• Build treatment plans integrating family, school, and community context.
• Support toileting, feeding, dressing, and other daily living skills.
• Communicate with families and schools, attend IEP/504 meetings, coordinate care across settings.
• Supervise and mentor classroom aides in areas of expertise.

Skills

Critical thinking

Problem-solving

Multi-tasking

Communication

CPR certification

Education

Master's degree in OT

California OT license

Tools

Charm EHR

Job description

Pediatric Occupational Therapist — Center for Developing Minds

Tired of delivering OT in 30-minute blocks dictated by a district calendar, standard goals, and paperwork that eats the time you'd rather spend with kids?

This role is different.

At the Center for Developing Minds, you won't be squeezed into the public school system's model of service delivery. You'll have the independence to actually build your practice: design your own curriculum, invent interventions that fit the child in front of you instead of a template, and work shoulder-to-shoulder with the developmental and behavioral pediatricians, therapists, and educators who make up our interdisciplinary team — in real time, not just at a quarterly meeting.

We're looking for a skilled, compassionate Occupational Therapist to work with children ages 1–10, particularly those with developmental disabilities or behavioral challenges. This is individualized, evidence-based, play-driven care — and you'll have real ownership over how it's delivered.

What You'll Do

Individualized Intervention

• Provide 1:1 and small-group OT — including feeding therapy, sensory integration, toileting support, adaptive skills intervention, and other areas within your expertise
• Adapt lesson plans to meet individual needs in real time, not on a fixed script

Group Intervention

• Lead weekly small-group sessions (2–5 children) targeting social communication, emotional regulation, behavior, attention, and play
• Collaborate with classroom aides supporting sensory, cognitive, behavioral, and communication needs

Assessment & Treatment Planning

• Conduct formal OT evaluations and informal assessments across cognitive, social-emotional, motor, communication, and adaptive domains
• Build treatment plans that integrate the child's family, school, and community context

Adaptive Skills

• Support toileting, feeding, dressing, and other essential daily living skills

Family & Community Collaboration

• Communicate with families and schools, attend IEP/504 meetings, and coordinate care across settings

Team Support & Training

• Supervise and mentor classroom aides in your areas of expertise

What You Bring

• Master's degree or higher in Occupational Therapy
• Valid California Occupational Therapy license
• At least 3 years working with children with developmental needs, including 2 years focused on autism spectrum disorder in children under 6
• Experience running therapy groups for children or parents (preferred)
• Strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and multi-tasking skills
• Ability to stay regulated and respond safely to a dysregulated child's emotional or aggressive outburst
• CPR certification
• Comfort with EHR systems (CHARM experience a plus)
• Physical readiness: frequent floor-to-standing transitions, lifting/moving/pushing up to 50 lbs, and the stamina to keep pace with young children

Why This Role Is Different

Public school OT roles often mean rigid scheduling, minimal cross-disciplinary contact, and little room to innovate. Here, you're embedded in a genuinely interdisciplinary clinical team — physicians, therapists, and educators working under one roof — with the creative latitude to design interventions that reflect your clinical judgment, not a compliance checklist. If you've been looking for a place where your expertise actually shapes the program instead of fitting into someone else's, this is it.

Job Type: Full-time

If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children and their families, we’d love to hear from you. We value diversity and are proud to be an equal-opportunity employer, welcoming applicants from all backgrounds.

Learn more about our mission at www.devminds.com