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Cortica
Carlsbad, California

Full Time Occupational Therapist

Occupational TherapistNo weekendsFull-Time

Listed compensation

~$104k

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations and nights and shift pattern.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Cortica is looking for a full time Occupational Therapist to join its growing multi-disciplinary team at our Carlsbad center in CA.

If you’re looking for a role where you can collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, build meaningful relationships with families, and practice evidence-based, play-centered therapy, we’d love to meet you!

Our Occupational Therapists work alongside Speech Language Pathologists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Physicians, Counselors, and other specialists to create truly integrated treatment plans that help children thrive.

As an Occupational Therapist, you’ll assess, diagnose, and treat sensory integration, sensorimotor, motor, feeding, and developmental disorders in children, while utilizing Cortica’s Whole Child Approach. Your Compensation & Benefits $2,000 continuing education stipend.

Receive competitive compensation, $83,000 to $104,000, depending on experience. Have an earning capacity that is not capped by salary, and will be eligible to earn an additional $45 for any extra billable hour above productivity expectations. Opportunities to grow within our clinical ladder. 401k matching.

PTO and continuing education/wellness days. Paid holidays. Health, vision, dental, and pet insurance. Referral bonuses. What will you do? Establish occupational therapy treatment goals through dynamic and standardized assessment tools, in alignment with Cortica’s Whole Child Approach.

Consult closely with transdisciplinary team members to create collaborative treatment plans and integrative strategies. Provide individual, group, and co-treat therapy sessions for therapy services within scope, as clinically appropriate.

Contributes to the autism diagnostic process by providing clinical insight and administering standardized assessments (e. g. ADOS), as appropriate. Provide therapeutic services in-person in the clinic setting and via telehealth, as clinically appropriate.

Accurately complete documentation in accordance with Cortica’s designated time frames. Provide neurodiversity affirming interventions that are both play-based and goal-based. Facilitate functional and child-led experiences to target and achieve individualized goals.

We’d love to hear from you if: You hold a current and unrestrictive license for Occupational Therapy in the state of practice. You hold a master’s degree in related field. You can complete safety training within the first 90 days of employment.

We are a rapidly growing healthcare company pioneering the most effective treatment methods for children with neurodevelopmental differences. Our mission is to design and deliver life-changing care – one child, one family, one community at a time.

Ultimately, we envision a world that cultivates the full potential of every child. At Cortica, every team member is instrumental in helping us achieve our mission! EOE. This posting is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the role and its duties.

Please review the job description in the following link: bit. ly Privacy Notice Cortica is committed to protecting your personal information in compliance with applicable federal and state laws. Please review our Privacy Notice to understand how your data is collected, used, and protected.

Fair Chance Ordinance Compliance Cortica is committed to fair hiring practices.

Qualified candidates with criminal histories will be considered and are not automatically disqualified from employment, consistent with applicable federal law, the California Fair Chance Act, and local ordinances such as the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, and the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers.

E-Verify Participation This employer participates in E-Verify. Click here to view the E-Verify Poster and your Right to Work. Este empleador participa en E-Verify. Haga clic aquí para ver el cartel de E-Verify y su derecho a trabajar. #CorticaOTCareers

Key Responsibilities

The Occupational Therapist will assess, diagnose, and treat sensory, motor, and developmental disorders in children using a multidisciplinary approach. They will collaborate with specialists to create integrated treatment plans and provide therapy in both clinic and telehealth settings.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a current, unrestrictive Occupational Therapy license and a master's degree in a related field. The role requires the ability to complete safety training within the first 90 days of employment.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Certifications

Board Certification

Key Skills

Sensorimotor therapyMotor skills developmentFeeding therapyDevelopmental disorders treatmentMultidisciplinary collaborationADOS assessmentClinical documentationPlay-based therapyGoal-based therapy

Occupational Therapist Career Context

In California, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (642 salary observations; 1,977 listings), vs ~$97k nationally (4,659 salary observations; 24,208 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$104k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $94k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 50 active Occupational Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 40% have no call, 74% require no weekends.

Occupational Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is up 1.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Work-Life Balance Analysis

WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Full Time Occupational Therapist at Cortica a 6.1 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as good. This places the position in the Above average in Occupational Therapy — ranked against 9,511 active Occupational Therapy listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements.

Top Occupational Therapist Jobs

28 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution28 jobs · 19 employers

12
<$110k
5
$110k-125k
4
$125k-140k
6
$140k-155k
1
$160k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks26 jobs · 19 employers

401k / retirement match
85% this job
Sign-on bonus
54%
CME allowance
46% this job
Loan repayment
27%
Relocation assistance
15%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Occupational Therapist (Home Health)

21st Century Home Health Services · Guerneville, California

$130k-$160k
#2

Occupational Therapist

Welbe Health · Elk Grove, California

$117k-$148k
#3

Acute Care Occupational Therapist

$96k-$141k
#4

Occupational Therapist

$96k-$141k
+ 26 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 6.1
Better work-life than 60% of Occupational Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 9,511 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends

Living in Carlsbad

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.35M≈ 13.0× annual pay
Typical market rent
$3,556/mo≈ 41% of gross pay
Residents’ average commute
27 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
111.9
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

Ratios use this listing’s gross annual pay. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Cortica logo

About Cortica

Hospitals and Health Care
San Diego, California
1,001-5,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

401k matching
PTO
Continuing education/wellness days
Paid holidays
Health insurance
Vision insurance
Dental insurance
Pet insurance