Principal Hardware Validation Engineer - Systems

Asteralabs; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Astera Labs in the United States seeks a Principal Engineer in Hardware Engineering's Validation Engineering to define and lead validation strategies for next-generation connectivity products. You will translate complex silicon, board, and system requirements into rigorous plans, scalable automation, and clear release decisions—ensuring reliable performance in AI infrastructure.

This role blends hands-on technical leadership with broad cross-functional influence, partnering with design,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8-12 years of experience in hardware, silicon, system, or product validation engineering.
• Proven experience leading validation for semiconductor, networking, connectivity, or data center products.
• Hands-on experience creating validation plans, test cases, automation, coverage metrics, and release criteria.
• Strong debugging skills across hardware, firmware, software, and laboratory instrumentation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to influence technical decisions across functions.

Responsibilities

• Define validation methodologies, coverage goals, schedules, dependencies, and exit criteria for complex hardware and connectivity products.
• Translate product requirements and architecture specifications into comprehensive validation plans, test cases, and measurable quality objectives.
• Identify technical risks early, prioritize validation investments, and communicate readiness, gaps, and tradeoffs to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Lead silicon, board, and system bring-up, including test environment definition, instrumentation selection, configuration, and execution.
• Architect scalable lab infrastructure and automated test frameworks that improve coverage, repeatability, debug efficiency, and time to qualification.
• Develop, review, and maintain Python-based automation and data analysis tools in Linux-based validation environments.
• Drive root-cause analysis of functional, performance, interoperability, reliability, and system-level issues across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.
• Partner with design, firmware, software, product, applications, and customer teams to resolve issues and deliver high-quality releases.
• Mentor engineers, establish validation best practices, and represent validation status and technical recommendations in design and launch reviews.

Skills

Validation leadership

Python automation

Lab instrumentation

Cross-functional collaboration

Debugging

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Master's or PhD in EE/CE

Tools

Python

Linux

Azure DevOps

Test automation frameworks

Job description

Astera Labs in the United States seeks a Principal Engineer in Hardware Engineering's Validation Engineering to define and lead validation strategies for next-generation connectivity products. You will translate complex silicon, board, and system requirements into rigorous plans, scalable automation, and clear release decisions—ensuring reliable performance in AI infrastructure.

This role blends hands-on technical leadership with broad cross-functional influence, partnering with design,