Principal Post-Silicon Validation Engineer

Astera Labs; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Astera Labs in San Jose, CA is seeking a Principal Post-Silicon Validation Engineer to lead the validation strategy for high-speed interconnect products. You will drive lab bring-up, characterize silicon, and perform root-cause analysis, influencing production readiness and time-to-market for AI infrastructure solutions.

Responsibilities include designing test plans, enabling automation with Python and C/C++, mentoring engineers, and collaborating with design and product teams to ensure robust

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related field.
• 8–12 years of hands-on post-silicon validation or hardware characterization.
• Proficiency with PCIe physical layer and high-speed serial interfaces.
• Strong scripting in Python and/or C/C++ for test automation.
• Proven debugging of complex hardware/firmware issues to root cause.

Responsibilities

• Architect and drive post-silicon validation plans from bring-up to production release.
• Define tests, coverage goals and exit criteria with design and product teams.
• Lead lab bring-up of new silicon including board, firmware, and software readiness.
• Mentor engineers and set validation best practices across the team.
• Collaborate with customers and Field Applications Engineers to resolve issues.

Skills

8-12 years experience in post-silicon

PCIe high-speed interfaces

Python/C/C++ for test automation

Hardware/firmware debugging

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

BERTs

Protocol analyzers

Power supplies

Job description

Principal Post-Silicon Validation Engineer

San Jose, California, United States

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

Astera Labs is looking for a Principal Post-Silicon Validation Engineer to take our connectivity silicon from first-silicon bring-up to production-ready. You will own the validation strategy for high-speed interconnect products, characterize real silicon in the lab, and drive root-cause analysis of the toughest system-level issues.

As AI workloads scale into rack-level infrastructure, every link has to perform flawlessly. Your work will directly shape the quality, performance, and time-to-market of the products that connect the world's most advanced AI platforms, in a hyper-growth company where your technical judgment carries real weight.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and drive end-to-end post-silicon validation plans, from first-silicon bring-up through characterization and production release
• Define test strategies, coverage goals, and exit criteria in partnership with design, architecture, and product teams
• Lead lab bring-up of new silicon, including board, firmware, and software readiness

Debug and Characterization

• Debug complex silicon, firmware, and system-level failures to root cause across the hardware/software boundary
• Characterize high-speed serial link performance, including margining, signal integrity, and compliance, across process, voltage, and temperature
• Partner with design and DFT teams to feed findings back into current and future product generations

Automation and Infrastructure

• Develop scalable validation automation frameworks and test content using Python and C/C++
• Build and improve lab infrastructure, test benches, and data analysis flows to increase validation throughput
• Analyze large validation datasets to identify trends, outliers, and risks early

Technical Leadership

• Mentor engineers and set best practices for validation methodology across the team
• Collaborate with customers and Field Applications Engineers to reproduce and resolve system-level issues

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 8-12 years of experience in post-silicon validation, silicon bring-up, or hardware characterization
• Hands-on experience with high-speed serial interfaces such as PCIe, including a strong understanding of the physical layer
• Proficiency in lab equipment, including oscilloscopes, BERTs, protocol analyzers, and power supplies
• Strong scripting and programming skills in Python and/or C/C++ for test automation
• Proven ability to debug complex hardware and firmware issues to root cause

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• Experience with PCIe Gen 5 or Gen 6, Ethernet, or retimer products
• Experience with SerDes characterization, equalization tuning, and link margining
• Track record of taking multiple products from first silicon to volume production
• Strong cross-functional communication skills and the ability to lead without direct authority

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.