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.
Role Overview
As a Principal Engineer on the Scorpio Product Applications team, you will help customers and internal teams deploy high-performance PCIe fabric solutions for rack-scale AI infrastructure. You will translate complex system requirements into practical architectures, lead platform bring-up, and guide the integration of Scorpio switches across demanding CPU, GPU, NIC, storage, and accelerator designs.
This role connects product strategy, firmware, and real-world system behavior. You will work across hardware, firmware, validation, and customer-facing teams to solve interoperability challenges, accelerate adoption, and shape the next generation of PCIe Gen 6/Gen 7 connectivity. Your work will directly influence how AI systems scale using purpose-built fabrics, UALink, and UCIe.
Key Responsibilities
- Product Applications and Customer Enablement
- Lead technical engagements with customers and ecosystem partners to define Scorpio-based PCIe architectures and deployment requirements.
- Develop reference designs, application guidance, technical presentations, and system-level collateral that accelerate customer adoption.
- Translate customer use cases into clear product requirements, integration plans, and prioritized technical actions.
- PCIe and Firmware Bring-Up
- Drive system bring-up, debug, and interoperability across PCIe hosts, GPUs, NICs, storage devices, and other high-performance endpoints.
- Partner with firmware teams to define, implement, and validate device configuration, boot flows, telemetry, recovery mechanisms, and field-debug capabilities.
- Analyze link training, enumeration, performance, error handling, and system stability issues using protocol traces, logs, and lab instrumentation.
- Build and maintain firmware, validation, and automation workflows that improve debug efficiency and product readiness.
- Cross-Functional Product Leadership
- Partner with architecture, design, firmware, validation, and applications teams to resolve complex issues from prototype through production.
- Lead root-cause analysis, communicate risks and recommendations, and drive issues to closure with clear ownership and measurable outcomes.
- Influence product enhancements and ecosystem interoperability plans for next-generation AI infrastructure connectivity.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- 8–12 years of experience in product applications, systems engineering, firmware, platform validation, or a related semiconductor domain.
- Strong understanding of PCIe architecture, including link training, enumeration, configuration space, error handling, performance, and system interoperability.
- Experience with firmware development or debug, including the ability to read code, interpret logs, and collaborate effectively with firmware developers.
- Hands-on experience with system bring-up, lab debug, protocol analysis, and root-cause investigation across complex hardware and software stacks.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical issues to both engineering teams and customers.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with PCIe Gen 6 or Gen 7, PCIe fabric switches, retimers, or other high-speed connectivity products.
- Familiarity with UALink, UCIe, or emerging scale-up and scale-out interconnect architectures.
- Experience developing validation plans, firmware test strategies, lab automation, or customer-facing technical collateral.
- Background supporting AI servers, accelerator platforms, hyperscale infrastructure, or high-performance computing systems.
- Demonstrated ability to lead ambiguous, cross-functional technical challenges in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
Salary range is $207,000 to $230,000 depending on experience, level, and business need. This role may be eligible for discretionary bonus, incentives and benefits.
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, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field
- 8-12 years of experience in product applications, systems engineering, firmware, platform validation, or a related semiconductor domain
- Strong understanding of PCIe architecture, including link training, enumeration, configuration space, error handling, performance, and system interoperability
- Experience with firmware development or debugging, including reading code, interpreting logs, and collaborating with firmware developers
- Hands-on experience with system bring-up, laboratory debugging, protocol analysis, and root-cause investigation across complex hardware and software stacks
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for explaining technical issues to engineering teams and customers
- Experience with PCIe Gen 6 or Gen 7, PCIe fabric switches, retimers, or other high-speed connectivity products
- Familiarity with UALink, UCIe, or emerging scale-up and scale-out interconnect architectures
- Experience developing validation plans, firmware test strategies, laboratory automation, or customer-facing technical collateral
- Background supporting AI servers, accelerator platforms, hyperscale infrastructure, or high-performance computing systems
- Ability to lead ambiguous, cross-functional technical challenges in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
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.
