Full-Time
Principal System Validation Engineer
Serdes/Ethernet
Posted on 8/21/2025
Astera Labs
501-1,000 employees
Semiconductor connectivity solutions for cloud AI
Compensation Overview
$209k - $230k/yr
San Jose, CA, USA
In Person
 QA & Testing (1) |
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- Strong academic and technical background in electrical or computer engineering. At minimum, a Bachelor’s is required, and a Master’s is preferred.
- 8-12 years of experience supporting or developing complex SoC/silicon products for Server, Storage, and/or Networking applications.
- Develop and perform system validation tests using leading-edge Data Center equipment and scalable automation platforms.
- The validation team holds customers’ system requirements in the highest regard and is solely responsible for certifying a product’s conformance to this high bar.
- Understand the performance and functionality requirements our ICs must deliver to enable customers developing Data Center systems using Astera Labs’ game-changing portfolio of connectivity products for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning applications.
- Formulate a comprehensive validation plan, automate the testing of ICs and board products in a data-centric manner, design experiments to root-cause unexpected behavior, report results and specification compliance in an automated fashion
- Work with key customers directly to understand their care-abouts and highlight the unique capabilities and performance of Astera Labs’ solutions.
- Strong knowledge in scripting for automation of validation efforts (e.g. Python, Matlab)
- Experience with silicon bring-up, debugging complex electrical and system performance issues, production ramp.
- Very knowledgeable about common high-speed SerDes protocols like Ethernet, PCIe etc., and the electrical, system level specifications defined in the standard documents (IEEE802.3, PCIe Base Specification etc.)
- Very knowledgeable about SerDes architecture including Tx/Rx equalization, adaptation, CDR, block level requirements and SerDes link jitter budget.
- Experience working with lab equipment such as protocol analyzers, BERT, real-time scopes, sampling scopes and VNA
- Experience with PAM4 SerDes validation (200G/100G/50G)
- Knowledge of schematic capture and PCB layout tools from Cadence, Altium, etc.
- Knowledge of Signal Integrity simulation tools
- Professional attitude with the ability to prioritize a dynamic list of multiple tasks, to plan and prepare for customer/internal meetings in advance, and to work with minimal guidance and supervision.
- Entrepreneurial, open-mind behavior and can-do attitude. Think and act with the customer in mind!
Astera Labs provides semiconductor-based connectivity solutions to boost cloud and AI infrastructure. Its products include PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet connectivity ICs and adapters that enable high-speed data transfer between processors, memory, and accelerators. These solutions help alleviate the memory wall by improving memory and I/O bandwidth, enabling faster communication within data centers supporting Generative AI workloads. The company differentiates itself by specializing in memory-centric, high-speed interconnects for cloud AI architectures and by targeting data centers and AI infrastructure customers with a portfolio of PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet products, rather than broad consumer-focused offerings. Astera Labs aims to expand its leadership in the global cloud AI market through continued development and deployment of its connectivity solutions, growing its market share and partnerships in data centers and AI workloads.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California
Founded
2017
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Q1 2026 revenue hit $308 million, up 93% YoY, with PCIe 6 over one-third of sales.
- Scorpio fabric switches ramp to largest revenue by 2026 end, targeting $1,000 per XPU.
- XScale Photonics acquisition drives optical interconnect volumes in 2027.
What critics are saying
- Nvidia NVSwitch 6 triples Scorpio X bandwidth, locking hyperscalers into NVLink by Q4 2026.
- Broadcom Tomahawk 6 commoditizes switches, eroding Scorpio pricing from Q2 2027.
- Nvidia NVLink Fusion sidelines PCIe switches for AMD/Intel GPUs by Q4 2026.
What makes Astera Labs unique
- Astera Labs pioneers PCIe 6.0 Scorpio X switches with 5.12 TB/s bandwidth for rack-scale AI.
- COSMOS software suite enables real-time telemetry across switches, cables, and optics.
- Aries retimers and Taurus controllers solve memory wall in PCIe/CXL/Ethernet connectivity.
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Benefits
401(k) Retirement Plan
Flexible Work Hours
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↓ -4%1 year growth
↓ -3%2 year growth
↑ 0%Astera Labs has raised $120 million in a Series C round, valuing the semiconductor connectivity solutions provider at $1.45 billion. Ribbit Capital led the investment, with participation from Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and new backer Emerson Collective. The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $270.6 million, up 17% sequentially and 92% year-over-year. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $852.5 million, a 115% increase from 2024. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.58 exceeded consensus estimates by 35%. Astera Labs designs connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure, with strong demand for its Taurus PCIe/CXL products and Scorpio switchable fabric solutions. The company projects a $25 billion addressable market over five years. Its shares traded at $112.47 as of 27 March, with 52 hedge funds holding positions.
Insiders are showing confidence in several high-growth US companies through significant ownership stakes. The American market has climbed 3.5% over the past week and 31% over the year, with earnings forecast to grow 16% annually. AppLovin Corporation, with a $130.31 billion market cap, has demonstrated strong performance with earnings rising 116.3% over the past year. Revenue is expected to grow 21% annually, outpacing the broader market. The company recently completed a $4.59 billion buyback programme, though it faces high debt levels and share price volatility. Tesla, valued at approximately $1.35 trillion, generates revenue primarily from automotive operations ($82.06 billion) and energy generation and storage ($12.77 billion), with revenue forecast to grow 16.4% annually. High insider ownership often signals management's confidence in future prospects.
Symbotic, Fastly and Astera Labs are positioned to capitalise on AI's growth despite receiving less attention than tech giants like Nvidia and Meta Platforms. Symbotic provides AI-powered warehouse automation and reported a 29% year-over-year revenue increase to $630 million in its fiscal first quarter. The company turned profitable with $13 million net income, reversing a $17 million loss from the previous year. It has a multi-year agreement with Walmart to deploy systems across all 42 distribution centres. Fastly delivers fast and secure online experiences, benefiting from increased AI bot traffic scouring the internet. The global AI-powered robotics market is forecast to expand from $7.5 billion in 2026 to $60.7 billion by 2034, providing a tailwind for these smaller AI companies.
Astera Labs reported strong fourth-quarter results and announced a $6.50 billion warrant agreement with Amazon to expand AI infrastructure partnerships. However, management disclosed an expected 200-basis-point gross margin headwind from module-heavy product mix and the Amazon warrant, reframing near-term profitability expectations. The Amazon deal strengthens Astera Labs' position in AI data centre connectivity, reinforcing demand for its Scorpio switches and COSMOS software as hyperscale deployments expand. Yet it also highlights customer concentration risks and margin pressure that investors must now factor into their valuations. The company's narrative projects $1.5 billion revenue and $393.5 million earnings by 2028, requiring 34.1% annual revenue growth. Cautious analysts note hyperscaler bargaining power could weigh more heavily on margins than consensus expects, particularly given Astera Labs' concentrated customer base.
Artisan Mid Cap Fund has initiated a position in Astera Labs, a fabless semiconductor company providing connectivity chips for data centres, according to its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. The fund took advantage of a recent share price pullback to establish what it calls a "Garden" position. Astera Labs manufactures chips that address data, network and memory bandwidth bottlenecks in data centres, helping modern GPUs and CPUs operate at full performance. The company also enables communication across different chip types, supporting the industry's shift towards heterogeneous computing. The fund believes Astera Labs has strong long-term growth prospects driven by continued cloud expansion and rising AI demand. As of 20 February 2026, Astera Labs shares traded at $129.68, with a market capitalisation of $22.073 billion.