Procurement Intern

About the role

Location: San Jose, CA

Role Overview

Astera Labs is a hyper-growth leader in purpose-built connectivity that enables rack-scale AI infrastructure, and our Procurement team keeps that growth moving. As a Procurement Intern, you will work alongside experienced buyers on real indirect purchasing workflows, from requisition to purchase order, while owning high-visibility projects including a category-level spend dashboard and a new travel program.

You will also help advance the team's AI initiatives with real ownership and room to take initiative. This is a hands-on opportunity to build your skills, deliver measurable savings, and leave behind work the team will rely on long after your internship ends.

Key Responsibilities

Indirect Purchasing Operations

• Support indirect purchasing workflows, including requisitions, approvals, and purchase order creation.
• Prepare and manage requests for quotation (RFQs) and help analyze supplier responses.
• Review quotes and contracts, flagging key terms and risks for the Procurement team.
• Assist with supplier evaluation and supplier setup.

Spend Analytics and Reporting

• Build a spend dashboard that provides visibility by category and commodity.
• Consolidate and clean spend data from multiple sources to ensure accuracy and usability.
• Create clear documentation and hand off the dashboard to the team upon completion.

Support for Travel Program Development

• Support the development of a corporate travel program that drives cost savings and improves the traveler experience.
• Partner with external travel vendors to evaluate options, negotiate terms, and capture savings.
• Recommend program policies and a rollout approach to key stakeholders.

AI and Process Innovation

• Advance the Procurement team's AI initiatives with increasing ownership and independence.
• Identify opportunities to automate and streamline procurement workflows.
• Proactively solve problems and propose creative, practical solutions.

Basic Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, Data Analytics, Supply Chain, or a related field.
• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with data in Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work with internal teams and external suppliers.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated initiative and ownership, with a willingness to learn quickly.
• Ability to work onsite in a fully in-person role.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior internship or coursework experience in procurement, sourcing, supply chain, or finance.
• Experience building dashboards or reports using Microsoft Power BI, Excel, or similar tools.
• Hands-on experience using AI tools to improve productivity or automate tasks.
• Familiarity with procurement concepts such as RFQs, purchase orders, contract terms, and supplier evaluation.
• Curiosity about the semiconductor and AI infrastructure industry.

Pay and benefits

This is a paid, hourly U.S. internship. The applicable hourly rate is determined as part of the offer process and specified in the offer letter, depending on education level ranges form $35/hour to $55/hour. U.S. interns currently receive a $500-per-week housing/relocation stipend for the duration of the internship. Interns participate in Early Career programming, including technical and professional-development sessions, community events, and an end-of-program project presentation.

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.