---
title: 'Principal Emulation Engineer at Astera Labs'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-emulation-engineer-astera-labs-san-jose-california-z7sj80tsjm8y'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Principal Emulation Engineer at Astera Labs

- **Company:** Astera Labs
- **Location:** San Jose California, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-09-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/asteralabs/jobs/4730620005

## 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/).

Principal Emulation Engineer — San Jose, CA

## Role Overview

As a Principal Emulation Engineer, you will build and operate emulation environments that let verification teams stress-test complex ASICs before silicon. You’ll partner closely with design, verification, firmware, and systems engineers to model hardware-software interactions, exercise high-speed protocols, and isolate issues across RTL, transactors, test environments, and code. Your hands-on leadership will turn difficult debug problems into actionable fixes and improve confidence in each product milestone.

Astera Labs is accelerating the infrastructure behind AI by delivering purpose-built connectivity solutions for rack-scale systems. In this role, you’ll help validate the switching, PCIe, Ethernet, memory, and storage interfaces that connect the compute fabric—enabling faster bring-up, stronger interoperability, and more reliable platforms as the company scales.

## Key Responsibilities

- Emulation and Prototyping
- Architect, build, and maintain emulation environments for complex ASICs and SoCs.
- Integrate RTL, transactors, protocol models, software, and test infrastructure to enable meaningful hardware-software co-simulation.
- Enable verification teams to stress-test designs with scalable, repeatable emulation workflows.
- Develop reusable models, utilities, and debug methodologies that accelerate pre-silicon validation.
- Protocol and SoC Verification
- Verify hardware-software interfaces and system behaviors in partnership with logic designers, firmware engineers, and verification teams.
- Exercise and debug PCI Express Gen 3 and above, Ethernet, DDR, NVMe, SPI, I2C/I3C, and similar interfaces.
- Analyze protocol behavior, functional coverage, performance, and corner cases across complex server, storage, and networking systems.
- Translate system requirements into practical emulation scenarios, tests, checkers, and measurable verification goals.
- Debug and Technical Leadership
- Debug design, environment, transactor, software, and test-code issues across the emulation stack.
- Identify software and hardware co-simulation limitations and apply effective isolation and debug techniques.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to prioritize a dynamic workload, resolve issues quickly, and drive risks to closure.
- Provide technical leadership, communicate clearly, and operate effectively with minimal guidance and supervision.

## Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- 8–12 years of experience supporting or developing complex SoC or silicon products for server, storage, or networking applications.
- Experience working with logic designers to architect, specify, and verify hardware-software interfaces on complex SoCs.
- Working knowledge of PCI Express Gen 3 or later, CXL, UALink, Ethernet, DDR, NVMe, SPI, I2C/I3C, or similar communication protocols.
- High proficiency in SystemVerilog and hardware verification environments.
- Experience understanding software and hardware co-simulation limitations and applying effective debug methods.
- Programming and scripting experience in Python, Perl, C, or similar languages.
- Professional, entrepreneurial, and open-minded approach with a can-do attitude, strong prioritization skills, and a customer-focused mindset.
- Authorized to work in the United States and available to start immediately.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- Hands-on experience with Palladium, Zebu, Veloce, HAPS, FPGA prototyping, or similar emulation and prototyping technologies.
- Experience developing models for emulation and prototyping and working in non-UVM verification environments.
- Experience building protocol transactors, behavioral models, software drivers, or system-level validation infrastructure.
- Based in the San Jose area or open to relocation; comfortable working fully in person.

Salary range is $207,000 to $230,000 depending on experience, level, and business need. This role may be eligible for discretionary bonus, incentives and benefits.

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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