Founding Lead Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OTR/L)

Founding Lead Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OTR/L) Bright Steps Therapy Network

Build the OT department you always wished you worked in.

You've spent years seeing what pediatric OT could be - fewer silos, more time with families, teachers who actually understand sensory and motor development. At most organizations, those ideas stay in your head. Here, they become the department.

Bright Steps Therapy Network launched in 2026 with speech, occupational therapy and holistic services, contracted in Illinois, Georgia and Tennessee. We are hiring our first Lead OT in Illinois to build the department from the ground up.

What you'll build

• The department. Design OT workflows, clinical standards, documentation norms and onboarding. Help hire and mentor the OTs and COTAs who join after you.
• The policies. Sit at the leadership table on clinical policy, supervision models and how services are delivered across clinic, school and childcare settings.
• The bridges. Work as one team with speech, holistic and our ABA partners - shared goals, shared families, no silos.
• The classroom. Create the OT track of our early-childhood learning pathway, teaching childcare and private-school educators the foundations of fine motor, sensory regulation and self-care development.
• The community. Lead caregiver workshops, developmental screenings and partnerships with childcares, schools and pediatricians.

How your time is split: 60% clinical care · 20% leadership and mentoring · 20% community outreach, education and growth

What you get

• $90,000–$110,000 salary (or hourly/PRN path)
• No evenings or weekends; flexible schedule you help design
• Real authority over how the department runs, and a growth path as we expand expand.
• Paid CEUs, including leadership development grounded in emotional intelligence and conflict skills
• Administrative support for scheduling, intake and billing, so your hours go to kids and teaching

You're our person if you

• Are a licensed (or license-eligible) Illinois OTR/L with 5+ years in pediatrics
• Get energized teaching adults - teachers, parents, new clinicians - not just treating kids
• Want to build something, and are comfortable with fast pace and innovation
• Believe great outcomes come from connection with families and educators, not just scheduling and billing

Not a fit if you want a fully built system with every process already defined. We need you to help define and operationalize it.

Apply in two minutes: send your resume or LinkedIn and one sentence: What would you create first if you built a pediatric OT department?

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