Jobs / United States / Astera Labs INC
Principal Product Applications Engineer – Scorpio
Astera Labs INC · 🇺🇸 San Jose, California, United States
Sponsorship verdict
Sponsorship possible
One solid signal, not two — worth applying, and worth asking about sponsorship early.
- Employer is on a government sponsor recordThe US Department of Labor certified 63 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 10 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
- The posting doesn’t mention sponsorshipSilence isn’t a refusal — ask the recruiter before investing much time.
- No salary bar for this routeH-1B has no fixed salary bar: the employer must pay at least the prevailing wage for the role and area. Cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level. Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b, rules effective 2026-02-27.
- What Astera Labs INC paid sponsored hires in similar roles26 certified filings for “Tech Lead Firmware Engineer” (Electronics Engineers, Except Computer) in CA: $157k–$216k, median $165k. Most were filed at wage level II (42%) — 2 lottery entries, ≈31% projected selection odds for cap-subject employers. Source: US Department of Labor LCA disclosure data (Oct 2025 – Jun 2026).
- Confirmed live todayWhen a source last listed this job as open.
US H-1B: cap-subject employers enter a lottery weighted by wage level — Level I gets 1 entry, Level IV gets 4 (DHS projected selection odds ≈15% at Level I to ≈61% at Level IV). Universities and non-profit research employers are cap-exempt. The $100,000 fee for new petitions from abroad is currently blocked by a court order (appeal pending).
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Sponsor Radar — Astera Labs INC
The US Department of Labor certified 63 H-1B/E-3 labor condition applications for this employer between Oct 2025 and Jun 2026 (latest Jun 2026) — the step every H-1B hire needs first. USCIS also records 10 H-1B approvals in FY2023. Source: LCA disclosure data (US Department of Labor (OFLC)).
Past sponsorship or register membership never guarantees sponsorship for this vacancy or for you. Full Sponsor Radar for Astera Labs INC →
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. Discover more at www.asteralabs.com . Role Overview As a Principal Engineer on the Scorpio Product Applications team, you will help customers and internal teams deploy high-performance PCIe fabric solutions for rack-scale AI infrastructure. You will translate complex system requirements into practical architectures, lead platform bring-up, and guide the integration of Scorpio switches across demanding CPU, GPU, NIC, storage, and accelerator designs. This role connects product strategy, firmware, and real-world system behavior. You will work across hardware, firmware, validation, and customer-facing teams to solve interoperability challenges, accelerate adoption, and shape the next generation of PCIe Gen 6/Gen 7 connectivity. Your work will directly influence how AI systems scale using purpose-built fabrics, UALink, and UCIe. Key Responsibilities • Product Applications and Customer Enablement • Lead technical engagements with customers and ecosystem partners to define Scorpio-based PCIe Firmware architectures and deployment requirements. • Develop reference designs, application guidance, technical presentations, and system-level collateral that accelerate customer adoption. • Translate customer use cases into clear Scorpio Firmware requirements, integration plans, and prioritized technical actions. • PCIe and Firmware Bring-Up • Drive system bring-up, debug, and interoperability across PCIe hosts, BMCs, GPUs, NICs, storage devices, and other high-performance endpoints. • Partner with firmware teams to define, implement, and validate device configuration, traffic routing, boot flows, telemetry, recovery mechanisms, and field-debug capabilities. • Analyze link training, enumeration, performance, error handling, data traffic and system stability issues using protocol traces, logs, and lab instrumentation. • Build and maintain firmware, validation, and automation workflows that improve debug efficiency and product readiness. • Cross-Functional Product Leadership • Partner with firmware, architecture, design, validation, and FAE teams to resolve complex issues from prototype through mass production. • Lead root-cause analysis, communicate risks and recommendations, and drive issues to closure with clear ownership and measurable outcomes. • Influence customer decisions on product enhancements and ecosystem interoperability plans for next-generation AI infrastructure connectivity. Basic Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field. • 8–12 years of experience in product applications, firmware development, systems engineering, platform validation, or a related semiconductor domain. • Strong understanding of PCIe Switch Firmware, PCIe architecture (including link training, enumeration, configuration space, error handling, performance, and system interoperability). • Experience with firmware development or debug, including the ability to read code, interpret logs, and collaborate effectively with firmware dev