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.
Lead Emulation Engineer
Experience - 6–10 years
Job Summary
We are looking for a Lead Emulation Engineer to lead the deployment and execution of complex SoC/IP verification on hardware emulation platforms. The candidate will work closely with design verification, RTL, architecture, firmware, and post-silicon teams to accelerate functional verification, software development, performance validation, and system-level debug.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead emulation strategy and execution for complex SoC/IP designs.
- Develop and maintain emulation environments for large-scale ASIC/SoC designs.
- Bring up RTL designs on emulation platforms and debug compilation, mapping, and runtime issues.
- Develop and execute emulation-based verification plans.
- Enable software and firmware teams to execute workloads on emulated hardware.
- Support early software bring-up and system-level validation.
- Develop transactors, monitors, BFMs, and other emulation components as required.
- Optimize emulation builds for performance, capacity, and compile/runtime efficiency.
- Debug functional issues across RTL, testbench, emulation environment, and software.
- Work closely with DV teams to migrate suitable simulation-based tests to emulation.
- Develop automation for test execution, regression, data collection, and debug.
- Analyze emulation failures and drive root-cause identification with RTL/DV teams.
- Support performance and stress testing using realistic system workloads.
- Drive emulation methodology improvements and infrastructure enhancements.
- Mentor junior and senior emulation engineers.
- Provide technical leadership during major IP/SoC bring-up milestones.
- Support silicon bring-up by developing reusable emulation-based debug strategies.
Required Technical Skills
- Strong experience with ASIC/SoC emulation.
- Hands-on experience with platforms such as Cadence Palladium, Synopsys ZeBu, or equivalent.
- Strong understanding of RTL and digital design.
- Experience with SystemVerilog/Verilog.
- Experience with UVM-based verification environments and simulation-to-emulation flows.
- Strong understanding of emulation compile, mapping, partitioning, acceleration, and runtime concepts.
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
- Scripting/programming experience using Python, Tcl, Perl, or C/C++.
Preferred Experience
- Experience with large, complex SoCs and multi-IP environments.
- Experience with PCIe, UALink, CXL, Ethernet, NoC, memory systems, or other high-speed interfaces.
- Experience with software-driven validation and early firmware enablement.
- Experience developing custom transactors and acceleration models.
- Experience with performance benchmarking and system-level workload validation.
- Experience supporting pre-silicon and post-silicon debug.
Leadership Expectations
- Independently own emulation bring-up and execution for major IPs/subsystems.
- Lead technical discussions with DV, RTL, firmware, and architecture teams.
- Mentor engineers and improve emulation productivity.
- Drive issues to closure while working against aggressive project/tape-out schedules.
- Establish reusable emulation flows and best practices.
Education
B.E./B.Tech/M.E./M.Tech in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, VLSI, or a related discipline.
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
- 6–10 years of experience in emulation engineering or a related field
- Strong experience with ASIC/SoC emulation
- Hands-on experience with Cadence Palladium, Synopsys ZeBu, or equivalent emulation platforms
- Strong understanding of RTL and digital design
- Experience with SystemVerilog and Verilog
- Experience with UVM-based verification environments and simulation-to-emulation flows
- Understanding of emulation compilation, mapping, partitioning, acceleration, and runtime concepts
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills
- Scripting or programming experience with Python, Tcl, Perl, or C/C++
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, VLSI, or a related discipline
- Experience with large, complex SoCs and multi-IP environments
- Experience with PCIe, UALink, CXL, Ethernet, NoC, memory systems, or other high-speed interfaces
- Experience with software-driven validation and early firmware enablement
- Experience developing custom transactors and acceleration models
- Experience with performance benchmarking and system-level workload validation
- Experience supporting pre-silicon and post-silicon debug
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.
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