Astera Labs (NASDAQ: ALAB) provides rack-scale AI infrastructure through purpose-built connectivity solutions. By collaborating with hyperscalers and ecosystem partners, Astera Labs enables organizations to unlock the full potential of modern AI. Astera Labs’ Intelligent Connectivity Platform integrates CXL®, Ethernet, NVLink, PCIe®, and UALink™ semiconductor-based technologies with the company’s COSMOS software suite to unify diverse components into cohesive, flexible systems that deliver end-to-end scale-up, and scale-out connectivity. The company’s custom connectivity solutions business complements its standards-based portfolio, enabling customers to deploy tailored architectures to meet their unique infrastructure requirements. Discover more at www.asteralabs.com.
Job Description:
As an Astera Labs Principal Product Application Engineer, you will need to provide technical guidance to ODMs to overcome design challenges, generate collateral for existing and new products, and drive innovation by providing insightful feedback to other internal teams to continuously improve products and processes. We need experience supporting the development and designing-in of semiconductor products for PCIe/CXL. There are opportunities to support key ODMs directly, and also to dive deep in the lab to address the challenges associated with leading edge semiconductor products.
Basic Qualifications
- Strong academic and technical background in electrical engineering. At minimum, a Bachelor’s in EE is required, Master’s is preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience designing in complex SoC/silicon products with a high speed (preferably PCIe) interface.
- Entrepreneurial, open-minded behavior and can-do attitude. Think and act with the customer in mind!
Required Experience
- Strong working knowledge of PCIe LTSSM at a physical layer level, associated standards, and debug. Most recent experience with PCIe 4.0 at a minimum, some experience with 5.0/CXL preferred.
- Silicon/System bring-up and debug experience in customer systems.
- Technical ownership of issue resolution: Driving and directing internal teams, and driving communication to customers through FAE and sales teams.
- Firsthand experience with lab equipment such as protocol analyzers/exercisers, high-speed oscilloscopes, or BERTs.
- Technical writing skills to generate clear, precise documentation including application notes and similar guides for internal and customer-facing audiences.
- Global customer engagement support, with travel as required for on-site activities, reviews, and system bring-up.
Preferred experience
- Triaging complex customer reported issues which require taking into account multiple layers of conditions; for instance, silicon, firmware, hardware board design, and system environment.
- Development/support for PCIe or Ethernet Switch or Retimer products.
- PCIe compliance testing methodology and troubleshooting.
- Comfort working with software/firmware associated with semiconductor products, such as; Firmware development with C-language, scripting with Python or other equivalent programming languages.
- Understanding of Data Center systems like Servers, JBOGs/JBODs, Networking switches/routers/interconnects etc.
We know that creativity and innovation happen more often when teams include diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences, and we actively encourage everyone with relevant experience to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, veterans, parents, and individuals with disabilities.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent; Master's degree preferred.
- At least 10 years of experience designing in complex SoC or silicon products with high-speed interfaces, preferably PCIe.
- Strong knowledge of PCIe LTSSM at the physical-layer level, associated standards, and debugging.
- Recent PCIe 4.0 experience; PCIe 5.0 or CXL experience preferred.
- Silicon or system bring-up and debugging experience in customer systems.
- Experience owning issue resolution and directing internal teams while communicating with customers through FAE and sales teams.
- Hands-on experience with protocol analyzers, exercisers, high-speed oscilloscopes, or BERTs.
- Technical writing skills for application notes and internal or customer-facing documentation.
- Ability to support global customer engagements and travel for onsite activities, reviews, and system bring-up.
- Experience triaging complex issues across silicon, firmware, hardware board design, and system environments.
- Experience developing or supporting PCIe or Ethernet switch or retimer products.
- PCIe compliance testing methodology and troubleshooting experience.
- Experience with firmware development in C and scripting in Python or equivalent languages.
- Understanding of data center systems, including servers, JBODs/JBOGs, networking switches, routers, and interconnects.
Astera Labs Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Astera Labs and has not been reviewed or approved by Astera Labs.
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Healthcare Strength — Health plans are described as competitive and employer-subsidized, covering medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents. Company materials and listings consistently emphasize strong core healthcare coverage.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible time off is highlighted alongside paid company holidays, with guidance indicating generous PTO when coordinated with teams. Documented policies also point to robust time-off structures across locations.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Stock-based compensation is a meaningful part of total pay, with RSUs and an employee stock purchase plan noted as part of the package. Public-company status enhances perceived value and accessibility of equity components.
Astera Labs Insights
What We Do
Astera Labs Inc., a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, is a leader in purpose-built connectivity solutions for data-centric systems throughout the data center. Partnering with leading processor vendors, cloud service providers, seasoned investors, and world-class manufacturing companies, Astera Labs is helping customers remove performance bottlenecks in data-intensive systems that are limiting the true potential of applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The company’s product portfolio includes system-aware semiconductor integrated circuits, boards, and services to enable robust CXL, PCIe, and Ethernet connectivity.
