Senior Emulation Architect - Pre-Silicon Validation

Astera Labs; San Jose (CA); Híbrido; USD 207 000 - 230 000; Tempo integral

Vantagens oferecidas por esta oferta de emprego

Discretionary bonus

Competitive benefits

Relocation assistance

Resumo da oferta

Astera Labs in San Jose, CA seeks a Principal Emulation Engineer to build and operate emulation environments for stress-testing complex ASICs and SoCs prior to silicon. You will lead cross-functional verification with design, firmware and systems teams, and validate PCI Express, CXL, Ethernet, DDR, NVMe and related interfaces across pre-silicon validation, with hands-on debugging and technical leadership.

You will contribute to a robust verification strategy, scale-up emulation workflows, and

Qualificações

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 8–12 years in SoC/silicon verification for server/storage/networking.
• Experience with hardware-software interfaces on complex SoCs.
• Proficient with PCIe Gen3+ and similar protocols (CXL, Ethernet, NVMe, SPI, I2C/I3C).
• Strong SystemVerilog and verification environments.
• Scripting in Python, Perl, C, or similar languages.
• Authorized to work in the United States; able to start immediately.

Responsabilidades

• Architect, build, and maintain emulation environments for ASICs and SoCs.
• Integrate RTL, transactors, models, software and test infra for co-simulation.
• Enable stress-testing with scalable, repeatable emulation workflows.
• Debug and lead cross-functional verification to drive issue resolution.
• Provide technical leadership and clear communication with minimal supervision.

Conhecimentos

SystemVerilog

SoC verification

Python

C/C++

PCIe/CXL

Emulation prototyping

Technical leadership

Formação académica

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering/CS

Master's degree in EE/CS (preferred)

Ferramentas

Palladium

Zebu

Veloce

HAPS

FPGA prototyping

Descrição da oferta de emprego

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 Emulation Engineer, you will build and operate emulation environments that let verification teams stress-test complex ASICs before silicon. You’ll partner closely with design, verification, firmware, and systems engineers to model hardware-software interactions, exercise high-speed protocols, and isolate issues across RTL, transactors, test environments, and code. Your hands-on leadership will turn difficult debug problems into actionable fixes and improve confidence in each product milestone.

Astera Labs is accelerating the infrastructure behind AI by delivering purpose-built connectivity solutions for rack-scale systems. In this role, you’ll help validate the switching, PCIe, Ethernet, memory, and storage interfaces that connect the compute fabric—enabling faster bring-up, stronger interoperability, and more reliable platforms as the company scales.

Key Responsibilities

• Emulation and Prototyping
• Architect, build, and maintain emulation environments for complex ASICs and SoCs.
• Integrate RTL, transactors, protocol models, software, and test infrastructure to enable meaningful hardware-software co-simulation.
• Enable verification teams to stress-test designs with scalable, repeatable emulation workflows.
• Develop reusable models, utilities, and debug methodologies that accelerate pre-silicon validation.
• Protocol and SoC Verification
• Verify hardware-software interfaces and system behaviors in partnership with logic designers, firmware engineers, and verification teams.
• Exercise and debug PCI Express Gen 3 and above, Ethernet, DDR, NVMe , SPI, I2C/I3C, and similar interfaces.
• Analyze protocol behavior, functional coverage, performance, and corner cases across complex server , storage, and networking systems.
• Translate system requirements into practical emulation scenarios, tests, checkers, and measurable verification goals.
• Debug and Technical Leadership
• Debug design, environment, transactor, software, and test-code issues across the emulation stack.
• Identify software and hardware co-simulation limitations and apply effective isolation and debug techniques.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to prioritize a dynamic workload, resolve issues quickly, and drive risks to closure.
• Provide technical leadership, communicate clearly, and operate effectively with minimal guidance and supervision.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering , Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• 8–12 years of experience supporting or developing complex SoC or silicon products for server, storage, or networking applications.
• Experience working with logic designers to architect, specify, and verify hardware-software interfaces on complex SoCs.
• Working knowledge of PCI Express Gen 3 or later, CXL, UALink , Ethernet, DDR, NVMe , SPI, I2C/I3C, or similar communication protocols.
• High proficiency in SystemVerilog and hardware verification environments.
• Experience understanding software and hardware co-simulation limitations and applying effective debug methods.
• Programming and scripting experience in Python, Perl, C, or similar languages.
• Professional , entrepreneurial, and open-minded approach with a can-do attitude, strong prioritization skills, and a customer-focused mindset.
• Authorized to work in the United States and available to start immediately .

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering , Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Hands-on experience with Palladium, Zebu, Veloce, HAPS, FPGA prototyping, or similar emulation and prototyping technologies.
• Experience developing models for emulation and prototyping and working in non-UVM verification environments.
• Experience building protocol transactors, behavioral models, software drivers, or system-level validation infrastructure.
• Based in the San Jose area or open to relocation; comfortable working fully in person.

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.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

First Name *

Last Name *

Preferred First Name

Email *

Phone

Country *

Phone *

Resume/CV

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

School * Select...

Degree * Select...

Select...

Start date year

End date year

Legal First Name *

Legal Last Name *

Would you require visa sponsorship at any time in the future? * Select...