Yep, right there up front and down low, with it's own little oil catch so it doesn't puke all over your engine block. My wife had a Scion FR-S for a bit (Subaru engine) with the oil filter right on top of the engine facing down so you could just take it off after a drain without a mess. Pretty neat.
I've seen enough shady mechanics in my life to not trust anyone but myself to wrench on my things, unless it takes specialized tools or experience. The more you know about the state of your vehicle, the better you can address it when things go tits up.