Astera Labs
SemiconductorsDirect Greenhouse career site

Principal Emulation Engineer

Pay
$209,000 – $230,000 per year
Location
San Jose, CA · On-site
Job type
Full-time
Level
Lead / Staff
Experience
8+ years
Education
Bachelor's degree
Listed
30 days ago

Skills & highlights for this role

  • ITAR eligibility
  • SystemVerilog
  • PCIe
  • emulation
  • verification environments

Also useful

  • Palladium
  • Zebu
  • Veloce
  • HAPS
  • FPGA prototyping
  • Python
  • Perl

About the role

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.

We are looking for a Principal Emulation Engineer with hands-on experience verifying protocols on complex ASICs and experience with or interest in emulation. The ideal candidate would be at ease creating environments to enable verification teams to stress test ASICs, as well as debugging design, environment, transactor, and code issues. The candidate must have good knowledge of communication protocols such as PCI-Express (Gen-3 and above), DDR, Ethernet, NVMe, or similar interfaces.

Basic qualifications

  • Strong academic and technical background in computer/electrical engineering. At a minimum, a Bachelor's in EE or Computer Science is required, and a Master's is preferred.
  • 8 years' experience supporting or developing complex SoC/silicon products for Server, Storage or Networking applications.
  • Experience working with logic designers to architect, specify, and verify hardware-software interfaces on complex SoCs.
  • Professional attitude with the ability to prioritize a dynamic list of multiple tasks and to work with minimal guidance and supervision.
  • Entrepreneurial, open-mind behavior and can-do attitude. Think and act fast with the customer in mind!
  • Authorized to work in the US and start immediately.

Required experience

  • Working knowledge of PCIe, Ethernet, DDR, SPI, I2C/I3C or similar protocols.
  • High level of proficiency in System Verilog and verification environments.
  • Experience understanding software and hardware co-simulation limitations and debug methods.
  • Experience in programming and scripting languages (like perl/python/C).
  • Currently based locally or open to relocation.

Preferred experience

  • Experience in emulation and prototyping technologies like Palladium/Zebu/Veloce or HAPS and FPGA prototyping.
  • Experience in modeling for emulation and prototyping, and/or non-UVM environments

Pay and benefits

The base salary range is $209,000.00 USD - $230,000.00 USD. Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and the pay of employees in similar positions.

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.

Read the original posting

From Astera Labs's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on October 10, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.

How Rolev.ai helps with this application

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Common questions

What is the salary for the Principal Emulation Engineer role at Astera Labs?

The Principal Emulation Engineer posting at Astera Labs states compensation of $209,000 – $230,000 per year. It is listed as a full-time position. Final pay may depend on location, experience, and interview evaluation on Astera Labs's official career site.

Where is the Principal Emulation Engineer job at Astera Labs located?

This Principal Emulation Engineer position at Astera Labs is located in San Jose, CA (On-site). Always check Astera Labs's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.

What qualifications are required for Principal Emulation Engineer at Astera Labs?

For the Principal Emulation Engineer role, Astera Labs highlights 8+ years of relevant experience; a bachelor's degree; experience with SystemVerilog, PCIe, emulation, verification environments. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.

How do I apply for the Principal Emulation Engineer position at Astera Labs?

This listing links directly to Astera Labs's Greenhouse application page. You can apply directly on Astera Labs's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Greenhouse application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.