Sr. Principal Business Manager – Data Center & AI Infrastructure

Astera Labs; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Astera Labs in Durham, NC is seeking a strategic leader to drive business growth in next-generation data infrastructure, focusing on commercial strategy and customer engagement. This role involves collaboration with hyperscalers to secure design wins and ensuring alignment of pricing strategies with market dynamics.

The ideal candidate has over 12 years in product marketing or business management, with a strong understanding of PCIe and AI platforms. The company values diverse ideas and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in product marketing, business management, or sales.
• Strong track record of leading complex deal negotiations.
• Deep understanding of PCIe and familiarity with advanced architectures.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategic deal pipeline and engage with hyperscale customers.
• Define pricing frameworks and commercial terms across key accounts.
• Drive process improvements to support rapid growth.

Skills

Customer engagement

Commercial strategy

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Technical solutions development

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or Business

MBA or advanced degree (preferred)

Tools

PCIe

Open Rack technologies

High-speed connectivity technologies

Job description

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

Are you passionate about driving business growth for next‑generation data infrastructure, working hand‑in‑hand with hyperscalers and AI platform providers? Do you thrive at the intersection of customer engagement, commercial strategy, and cutting‑edge technologies like Open Rack, rack‑scale systems, and PCIe scale‑up architectures? At Astera Labs, you’ll help shape how the world’s largest AI platforms are connected — translating complex infrastructure trends into successful business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive Strategic Deal Pipeline
• Lead engagement with hyperscale and AI customers to secure design wins and drive conversion to contracts and purchase orders
• Focus on opportunities involving Open Rack deployments, rack‑scale architectures, and PCIe‑based scale‑up systems
• Partner with sales to accelerate pipeline execution for critical, high‑impact deals
• Own Commercial Strategy & Pricing
• Define and approve pricing frameworks and commercial terms across key accounts
• Align pricing strategies with market dynamics in AI infrastructure, rack‑scale compute, and interconnect technologies
• Collaborate with product marketing to ensure consistency across the product portfolio
• Enable Customer & Segment Strategies
• Develop playbooks for hyperscalers, AI cloud providers, and OEM segments
• Incorporate insights across Open Compute / Open Rack ecosystems, rack‑scale system design trends, and PCIe scale‑up and high‑speed interconnect adoption
• Support negotiation strategy, solution positioning, and competitive differentiation
• Support Business Scaling & Operations
• Drive process improvements to support rapid growth in AI and data center markets
• Partner cross‑functionally to improve operational efficiency, tools, and organizational clarity

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, or a related field
• 12+ years of experience in product marketing, business management, sales, operations, or related roles in the semiconductor or data center ecosystem
• Strong track record of leading complex deal negotiations and securing strategic customer agreements with hyperscalers, cloud providers, or OEMs
• Deep understanding of PCIe and familiarity with Ethernet, UALink, UCIe, and system‑level architectures
• Demonstrated experience with AI / cloud infrastructure platforms, rack‑scale system architectures, and scale‑up vs. scale‑out compute models
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate customer needs into compelling business and technical solutions

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or Business
• Direct experience supporting Open Compute / Open Rack ecosystems and engaging with hyperscale procurement and engineering teams
• Familiarity with high‑speed connectivity technologies (PCIe Gen 6/Gen 7, retimers, switches) and emerging AI fabric standards
• Experience defining pricing frameworks and commercial models for high‑growth semiconductor or systems products
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, hyper‑growth environment and influence executive stakeholders

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.