---
title: 'Principal Electrical Engineer – Smart Cable Modules at Astera Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-electrical-engineer-smart-cable-modules-astera-labs-shanghai-xbcb0eyyh5xx'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Principal Electrical Engineer – Smart Cable Modules at Astera Labs

- **Company:** Astera Labs
- **Location:** Shanghai, China
- **Posted:** 2026-05-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/asteralabs/jobs/4698851005

## 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](http://www.asteralabs.com/).

We are looking for a Principal Electrical Engineer to take strategic ownership of our Smart Cable Module (SCM) hardware platform. This is a senior individual-contributor role that combines deep technical leadership with cross-organizational influence - you will define the electrical architecture of our next-generation active copper cable assemblies and pluggable modules in OSFP, QSFP-DD, and emerging form-factor enclosures targeting 400G, 800G, and beyond.

As a Principal Engineer you will set design direction, establish engineering standards, and serve as the primary technical authority on module hardware across the full product lifecycle - from concept and architecture through production release and sustaining engineering. You will partner with cross functional team, contract manufacturers, firmware teams, and hyperscale customers to deliver differentiated, high-reliability products for data center AI/ML fabric and high-performance computing applications.

## Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Technical Leadership

- Define and own the end-to-end electrical architecture for smart cable modules, including SerDes channel topology, power delivery strategy, and thermal budgeting for muti-Gig (112G PAM4 and 56G NRZ ) designs
- Establish and maintain internal electrical design standards, PCB layout rules, and SI/PI guidelines that the broader hardware team
- Lead technical reviews (architecture, schematic, layout, DVT) and provide authoritative sign-off on high-speed digital designs
- Contribute to the module hardware roadmap in alignment with host ASIC platform generations, MSA form-factor evolution, and customer requirements
- Evaluate and select components; engage directly with supplier engineering teams on reference design adaptation and silicon bring-up support

Electrical Design Ownership

- Drive schematic capture and PCB design for complex multi-layer modules housing muti-Gig SerDes retimer or DSP ASICs in thermally and spatially constrained OSFP/QSFP-DD enclosures
- Own power delivery design including multi-rail regulation, hot-plug sequencing, brownout protection, and inrush management within MSA-defined power envelopes.
- Review and recommendation on PCB stack-up, impedance targets, via structures, and differential-pair routing rules; review and approve layout execution with sufficient SI understanding to ensure first-pass compliance
- Define module management hardware architecture: I2C topology, register map implementation, microcontroller selection, and diagnostic monitoring interface circuitry
- Perform analog and mixed-signal sub-circuit design including clock distribution, oscillator selection, ESD protection, and supervisory logic

Validation & Bring-Up Leadership

- Author/co-author hardware bring-up strategies, debug plans, and acceptance test procedures for new module designs; lead or directly execute board bring-up.
- Oversee firmware integration testing, control-interface validation, and module diagnostic monitoring verification
- Lead root-cause analysis on complex hardware failures; review failure analysis reports and implement changes.
- Define and champion DFT/DFM strategies with CM and PCB fabrication partners to improve yield and reduce manufacturing cost

Cross-Functional & Organizational Impact

- Collaborate with firmware and software teams to define initialization sequences, power management schemes, and real-time diagnostic algorithms
- Represent the organization in relevant MSA, and IEEE standards working groups; influence specification development in support of company product strategy
- Mentor and technically develop senior and mid-level engineers; elevate the hardware team's collective capabilities in high-speed design
- Contribute to strategic hiring, technical onboarding, and department-level engineering process improvement

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in electrical engineering or closely related field;
- 10-12+ years of progressive electrical engineering experience, with at least 5 years focused on high-speed SerDes-based interconnect, active copper cable, or optical/pluggable module products
- Demonstrated track record of architecting and delivering production hardware with 56G / 112G and faster SerDes interfaces (Ethernet, PCIe, or InfiniBand)
- Expert-level understanding of signal integrity principles - impedance control, differential pair management, eye mask budgeting, channel loss allocation - sufficient to author design rules and review layout without performing full SI simulation
- Proficiency with EDA tools: industry-standard schematic capture (Cadence Allegro / OrCAD) and PCB layout review
- Deep familiarity with OSFP, QSFP-DD800, and SFP-DD MSA mechanical, electrical, and management specifications
- Hands-on experience with CMIS 5.x / SFF-8636 module management and I2C/MDIO interface design
- Proven ability to lead hardware bring-up and debug complex mixed-signal failures using high-bandwidth oscilloscopes and protocol analyzers
- Strong PDN design fundamentals: multi-rail sequencing, transient response, decoupling strategy, and thermal-electrical co-analysis
- Experience interfacing with silicon vendors/teams on customizing reference design, silicon errata management, and platform bring-up

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience at the architecture or lead engineer level on 800G or beyond module programs
- Familiarity with co-packaged optics (CPO) or linear drive (LPO) module electrical architecture
- Working knowledge of host-side switching ASIC electrical interfaces and SerDes equalization schemes
- Participation in OIF, IEEE 802.3, or QSFP/OSFP MSA standards bodies
- Experience with PCIe Gen 5/6 retimer module designs
- Scripting fluency in Python for lab automation, measurement data reduction, or hardware characterization workflows

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.

## About Astera Labs

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Astera Labs designs and delivers semiconductor-based connectivity solutions purpose-built to unleash the full potential of cloud and AI infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Public (Nasdaq: ALAB)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Jitendra Mohan, Sanjay Gajendra, Casey Morrison

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Semiconductor manufacturing / AI infrastructure connectivity
- **Target customers**: B2B, primarily hyperscale cloud providers and system OEMs (e.g., NVIDIA, AMD, Intel)
- **Mission statement**: To innovate, design, and deliver semiconductor-based connectivity solutions that are purpose-built to unleash the full potential of cloud and AI infrastructure.

## Products & Services
- **Aries PCIe®/CXL™ Smart DSP Retimers**: Silicon ICs, boards, and modules that digitally recover degraded high-speed signals to extend reach and enable higher PCIe/CXL data bandwidth between compute, storage, and network controllers.
- **Taurus Ethernet Smart Cable Modules™**: Hardware modules that increase network connectivity bandwidth between servers and switches over copper media, removing rack-level Ethernet bottlenecks.
- **Leo CXL Memory Connectivity Controllers**: ICs and boards that expand, share, and pool DRAM memory to overcome processor memory bandwidth bottlenecks for AI workloads.
- **Scorpio Smart Fabric Switches**: A family of PCIe 6 fabric switches ranging from 32 to 320 lanes, including the new 320-lane Scorpio X-Series Fabric Switch for AI scale-up fabrics.
- **COSMOS Software Suite**: A connectivity system management and optimization software that enables configuration, monitoring, troubleshooting, and predictive analytics for all Astera Labs products.

## Market Standing
- **Market Cap**: ~$11.6 billion (as of mid-2026)
- **Key Metric - Revenue**: $35 million (annual, reported)
- **Key Metric - Operating Income**: $173.4 million (2025)
- **Key Metric - Net Income**: $219.1 million (2025)
- **Total Funding**: ~$810.75 million (pre-IPO), with Series C ($50M, led by Fidelity) and Series D ($150M, led by Fidelity)
- **IPO Date**: March 20, 2024
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Fidelity, NVIDIA, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, major hyperscalers
- **Growth Signals**: 92% YoY headcount growth (675 employees); 144 active job postings (+260% YoY); expanded Taiwan operations with a new Cloud-Scale Interop Lab in 2026; shipping millions of devices across all major hyperscalers; 300+ design wins.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-to-market innovation**: Pioneered first-to-market PCIe, Ethernet, and CXL connectivity products.
- **Patented software-defined platform approach**: Differentiates via a platform that combines silicon hardware with embedded COSMOS software, enabling flexibility, observability, and predictive analytics.
- **Deep hyperscaler relationships**: Trusted partner to the world’s largest cloud providers, with proven interoperability validated in their own Cloud-Scale Interop Lab.
- **Broad product portfolio**: Covers PCIe retimers, Ethernet cable modules, CXL memory controllers, and fabric switches—addressing the full spectrum of AI connectivity bottlenecks.
- **Strong IP and engineering talent**: 443 employees in technical roles; talent sourced from Intel (65), Marvell (37), Texas Instruments (40), AMD (22), and NVIDIA.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling AI infrastructure**: Expanding product portfolio and global footprint (12 countries) to meet surging demand for rack-scale AI.
- **Open standards leadership**: All products are grounded in open standards (PCIe, CXL, Ethernet), ensuring interoperability and broad adoption.
- **Taiwan expansion**: Growing engineering presence and Interop Lab in Taiwan to strengthen integration with leading AI platform providers and system manufacturers.
- **Continued innovation**: Shipping the new 320-lane Scorpio X-Series Fabric Switch and expanding the COSMOS software suite for fleet-level management and optimization.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as collaborative, ownership-driven, and focused on solving complex problems together. The company emphasizes diversity and inclusion as drivers of creativity and innovation.
- **Growth**: Astera Labs supports non-linear career growth—employees can deepen expertise (“scale up”) or broaden into new areas (“scale out”). 92% YoY headcount growth signals rapid expansion and opportunity.
- **Remote/Hybrid**: Not explicitly stated, but global operations across 12 countries (including India, Canada, Israel, Taiwan, Vietnam) suggest a flexible, distributed work model.
- **Benefits**: Competitive medical, dental, and vision plans; flexible time off; family planning and parental leave; 401K and retirement plans.
- **Engineering culture**: Strong focus on cutting-edge semiconductor and AI infrastructure technology. High concentration of senior (24%) and specialist (19%) talent. Active internship and new graduate programs.
- **Employee ratings**: 4.5/5.0 on LinkedIn (124 reviews), with high marks for compensation (4.6), culture (4.4), and career development (4.4).

## Sources
1. [Astera Labs Careers Page](https://www.asteralabs.com/careers/)
2. [Astera Labs Official Website](https://www.asteralabs.com/)
3. [Astera Labs LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astera-labs)
4. [Astera Labs Products Page](https://www.asteralabs.com/products/)
5. [Astera Labs S-1 Filing (SEC)](https://ir.asteralabs.com/static-files/7103a4cb-aa6b-4f11-a4b0-f179cd4c5bee)

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