Principal Field Applications Engineer

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 Principal Field Applications Engineer, you will support the world’s leading cloud service providers, server and network OEMs by working with them to design solutions that use Astera Labs’ portfolio of connectivity products. In this role, you will need to identify and understand customer requirements, propose Astera Labs solutions that provide clear value to the customer and provide hands-on design-in support. You will drive innovation by listening to the customer requirements, working with our engineering teams to implement into the product roadmap and delivering the results back to the customer.

 Basic qualifications:

• BS in electrical engineering. Master’s degree in engineering is preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years’ experience working with Cloud service providers and server OEM customers to design in complex SoC/silicon products for Server, Storage, and/or Networking applications. 
• Customer-oriented, Goal-driven, Self-motivated, be able to work independently and be able to travel frequently to customer sites
• Fluent in Mandarin and English
• Entrepreneurial, open-mind behavior and can-do attitude. Think and act with the customer in mind!

Required experience:

• Hands-on, thorough knowledge of high-speed protocols like PCIe & Ethernet
• Silicon/System bring-up and debug experience in customer systems.
• Experience with lab equipment including protocol analyzers and oscilloscopes.
• A strong background in high-speed board design techniques, and understanding of Data Center systems like Servers, JBOGs/JBODs, Networking switches/routers etc.
• Intermediate level of proficiency in Python for automating system validation and link optimization.
• Able to step through embedded firmware at the SerDes (SoC) or MCU level for debugging.
• Firsthand experience with lab equipment including traffic generators, analyzers, and high-speed oscilloscopes.
• Business travel to Asia and the North America region may be required as needed.

Preferred experience:

• Strong working knowledge of a high speed interface at a physical layer level, associated standards, and debug. Most recent experience with 12G NRZ signaling at a minimum, some experience with 25G NRZ/56G PAM4 preferred.
• Development, support, and experience with PCIe ICs.
• Experience in embedded SW debug or development with firmware, drivers, and BIOS using PCIe technology.

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.