Senior Principal Engineer, FW/SW for AI Connectivity

Linuxconfig; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Astera Labs in San Jose, CA, seeks an experienced Senior Principal / Distinguished Engineer to lead firmware and software development for AI connectivity platforms. The role spans embedded firmware to host software, driving architecture decisions across multiple product lines and mentoring engineers.

You will collaborate with ASIC design, verification, and systems teams to deliver robust PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet solutions, shaping next-generation infrastructure for scalable AI deployments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 12+ years of firmware/software development experience in semiconductor or systems companies.
• Strong proficiency in C and C++ for embedded and systems-level programming.
• Experience developing firmware for ARM-based SoCs or custom ASIC platforms.
• Deep understanding of hardware-software interfaces, registers, and low-level debugging.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop production-quality embedded firmware for Astera Labs connectivity ASICs, including boot code and runtime firmware.
• Design and implement host-side software, drivers, and SDK components for customer platforms integration.
• Define firmware/software architecture strategies that scale across product lines and generations.
• Partner with ASIC design and verification teams to define hardware-firmware interfaces and co-design features.
• Drive technical decisions spanning firmware, diagnostic tools, manufacturing software, and customer utilities.
• Collaborate with applications and field engineering teams to resolve complex system-level issues at customer sites.

Skills

C/C++

Embedded FW

ARM SoCs

Device drivers

PCIe/CXL/Ethernet

Low-level debugging

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Python

Linux kernel development

Job description

Astera Labs in San Jose, CA, seeks an experienced Senior Principal / Distinguished Engineer to lead firmware and software development for AI connectivity platforms. The role spans embedded firmware to host software, driving architecture decisions across multiple product lines and mentoring engineers.

You will collaborate with ASIC design, verification, and systems teams to deliver robust PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet solutions, shaping next-generation infrastructure for scalable AI deployments.