Product Applications Engineer, Signal Connectivity (NCG)

Employment type: Full-time NCG

Location: San Jose, CA (On-site)

About Astera Labs

Astera Labs is a connectivity company enabling the rack-scale AI infrastructure that powers advanced compute systems. Our products help customers build reliable, high-performance systems across the data center.

Role overview

As a Product Applications Engineer on the Signal Connectivity Product Applications team, you will help customers and internal engineering teams understand, validate, and deploy Astera Labs connectivity products. You will work across Aries, Taurus, and related signal-connectivity products, collaborating with product, systems, silicon, firmware, software, field applications, and customer teams to solve complex system-level challenges.

This role is designed for an early-career engineer who wants to build deep product knowledge, develop strong interoperability and debugging skills, and grow into a technical customer-facing contributor. You will gain exposure to the full product lifecycle, from requirements and system bring-up through validation, documentation, customer issue resolution, and product support.

Key responsibilities

• Support system-level bring-up, interoperability testing, validation, and debug for Signal Connectivity products.

• Reproduce and investigate customer and internal issues involving hardware, signal integrity, power, firmware, software, link behavior, or system integration.

• Use lab equipment, evaluation platforms, test infrastructure, and internal tools to collect evidence, isolate root causes, and verify fixes.

• Develop or improve scripts, automation, and test workflows that make product validation and issue analysis more efficient and repeatable.

• Work with systems engineering, silicon engineering, firmware, software, product management, and field applications teams to translate customer requirements into technical actions.

• Help create and maintain technical collateral, including datasheets, application notes, product guides, validation plans, test cases, and troubleshooting documentation.

• Support customer demonstrations, technical training, and product-focused knowledge sharing as needed.

• Track issues and communicate status, findings, risks, and recommended next steps clearly to technical and cross-functional audiences.

• Participate in cross-product learning and interoperability activities across the Product Applications organization.

Basic qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field, completed or expected around the start of employment.

• Foundational knowledge of computer architecture, digital systems, high-speed interfaces, networking, or system-level hardware/software integration.

• Experience with at least one programming or scripting language, such as Python, C, or C++, through coursework, research, or projects.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a methodical approach to debugging complex technical issues.

• Ability to learn new hardware and software tools quickly and communicate technical findings clearly.

• Ability to work on-site in San Jose and collaborate effectively across engineering and customer-facing teams.

Preferred qualifications

• Coursework, research, or project experience involving PCIe, Ethernet, CXL, SerDes, signal integrity, power integrity, networking, GPUs, CPUs, or high-performance computing systems.

• Familiarity with lab instruments, evaluation boards, system bring-up, hardware/software debug, or interoperability testing.

• Experience with Linux, Git, automated testing, data analysis, or technical documentation.

• Exposure to validation frameworks, test management, or system-level automation.

• Interest in customer-facing engineering, technical support, product applications, or translating complex engineering concepts into practical solutions.

Compensation and benefits

For this U.S. engineering NCG role in the San Jose area, the FY2026 base-salary guidance is $140,000–$155,000 for B.S. and M.S. candidates with no prior experience, depending on education and applicable offer-level details. The offer may also include a target bonus and new-hire RSU grant, subject to applicable offer terms and company policies.

NCGs in Product Applications may participate in cross-product development opportunities designed to build product knowledge, deepen interoperability expertise, strengthen technical skills, and expand collaboration across Aries and other Astera Labs product lines.

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.