Principal Electrical Engineer – Smart Cable Modules

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 [](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