Firmware Engineer Intern (Retimer)

Location: San Jose, CA
Employment type: U.S. internship

About Astera Labs

Astera Labs provides rack-scale AI infrastructure through purpose-built connectivity solutions. Our products help enable the high-bandwidth, high-reliability interconnects that power modern AI systems.

The role

As a Firmware Engineer Intern on the Retimer team, you will work at the intersection of embedded software and high-speed hardware. You will contribute to firmware for PCIe Retimer products, learn how firmware participates in link training and signal conditioning, and help debug and validate real systems alongside experienced engineers.

This is a hands-on opportunity to apply coursework and project experience to silicon and firmware development. You will work across the hardware/software boundary—from embedded code and register-level behavior to lab testing, automation, and issue investigation.

What you’ll do

• Contribute to embedded firmware development in C/C++ for PCIe Retimer products.

• Learn and work with firmware state machines, register configuration, link training, equalization, diagnostics, and related low-level functionality.

• Build, test, and debug firmware in a Linux-based development environment using tools such as Git, compilers, build systems, and debuggers.

• Write scripts, including Python where appropriate, to automate test flows, collect data, analyze logs, and improve engineering workflows.

• Partner with firmware, silicon, system validation, and applications engineers to reproduce issues, interpret hardware behavior, and verify fixes.

• Use structured problem-solving to investigate failures on real hardware and communicate findings clearly.

• Participate in code reviews, technical discussions, documentation, and project planning.

• Present project progress and key learnings to the team during and at the end of the internship.

What you bring

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.

• Coursework, research, or project experience with C/C++, Python, or another programming language.

• Foundational understanding of computer architecture, embedded systems, digital logic, or computer networking.

• Interest in learning how software controls and diagnoses hardware systems.

• Strong analytical, debugging, and problem-solving skills.

• Clear written and verbal communication and the ability to collaborate effectively with a cross-functional engineering team.

• Ability to work on-site in San Jose, CA.

Preferred qualifications

• Hands-on experience with embedded firmware, microcontrollers, bare-metal or RTOS development, device drivers, or low-level software.

• Familiarity with PCIe, SerDes, link training, LTSSM, equalization, retimers, or other high-speed interconnect technologies.

• Experience with Linux development tools, Git, scripting, test automation, or data analysis.

• Exposure to interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, or SMBus.

• Experience using lab equipment or working with hardware bring-up and validation.

Internship experience and compensation

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.