Technical Lead Physical Design Engineer

Asteralabs; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Astera Labs is seeking a Senior/Staff Physical Design Engineer to oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of connectivity ASICs used by leading cloud providers, servers, and network OEMs.

You will collaborate with design, verification, and operations teams in a fast-paced, on-site role focusing on 7nm or smaller tech, with block ownership from architecture to GDSII, leveraging Cadence or Synopsys flows and SystemVerilog expertise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in EE/Computer; Master’s degree preferred.
• ≥5 years’ experience in SoC/silicon for Server/Storage/Networking.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, plan ahead for customer meetings, and work with minimal supervision.
• Entrepreneurial, open‑minded attitude with a customer-first mindset.
• Hands-on knowledge of synthesis, place & route, timing, extraction, EM‑IR, and formal verification.
• Block-level ownership from architecture to GDSII, driving designs to production.
• Experience with Cadence and/or Synopsys physical design tools/flows.
• Familiarity with SystemVerilog/Verilog.
• Scripting skills in tcl, Python or Perl.

Responsibilities

• Oversee planning, coordination and execution for ASIC design.
• Work with designers, verification and operations teams.
• Own block-level timing and delivery from architecture to GDSII.

Skills

Synthesis

Place & Route

Timing closure

EM‑IR

Formal verification

Block ownership

Vendor coordination

Planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in EE/Computer

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Cadence

Synopsys

SystemVerilog

Verilog

tcl

Python

Perl

GDSII

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.

As an Astera Labs Senior/Staff Physical Design Engineer you will play a crucial role in overseeing the planning, coordination, and execution supporting the design of Astera Labs' portfolio of connectivity ASICs used in the world's leading cloud service providers, server and network OEMs. To accomplish that, you will work closely with designers, verification engineering, and engineering operations. This role is fully on-site and in-person.

Basic Qualifications:

• Strong academic and technical background in electrical engineering. A Bachelor’s degree in EE / Computer is required, and a Master’s degree is preferred.
• ≥5 years’ experience supporting or developing complex SoC/silicon products for Server, Storage, and/or Networking applications.
• Professional attitude with the ability to prioritize a dynamic list of multiple tasks, plan and prepare for customer meetings in advance, and work with minimal guidance and supervision.
• Entrepreneurial, open‑mind behavior and can‑do attitude. Think and act fast with the customer in mind!

Required Experience:

• Hands‑on and thorough knowledge of synthesis, place and route, timing, extraction, EM‑IR, formal verification (equivalence) and other backend tools and methodologies for technologies 7nm or less.
• Block level ownership from architecture to GDSII, driving multiple complex designs to production.
• Experience with Cadence and/or Synopsys physical design tools/flows.
• Familiarity and working knowledge of System Verilog/Verilog.
• Proven expertise in developing/maintaining timing constraints, timing signoff methodology, timing closure at the block or full‑chip level.
• Experience in working with IP vendors for both RTL and hard‑macro blocks.
• Good scripting skills in tcl, python or Perl.

Preferred Experience:

• Knowledge of design for test (DFT)
• Familiarity with ECO methodologies and tools.
• Knowledge of LVS/DRC closures.

Your base salary will be determined based on your experience and the pay of employees in similar positions. The base salary range is $135,000 USD - $165,000 USD for Senior Level, and $160,000 USD - $195,000 USD for Staff Level.

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.