Distinguished Engineer – System & Rack Hardware Architecture

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 Astera Labs is at the epicenter of the AI infrastructure revolution, building the intelligent connectivity solutions that power the world's most advanced data centers. As AI workloads scale to unprecedented levels, the demand for purpose-built, rack-scale platforms that seamlessly integrate high-speed connectivity, firmware intelligence, and composable architectures has never been greater — and neither has the opportunity to shape what comes next. The AI Platform Solutions Group is seeking a Distinguished Engineer to serve as the technical visionary for next-generation AI infrastructure, spanning server firmware, high-speed connectivity, and rack-scale system design. In this role, you will define the end-to-end architecture for AI platforms that integrate cutting-edge technologies such as PCIe Gen5/6, UAlink, CXL, composable rack architectures, and advanced interconnect solutions including Astera Labs' portfolio of retimers, switches, and fabric controllers. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role where you will drive innovation across silicon integration, platform firmware, system performance, and rack-level orchestration — directly enabling hyperscale AI training and inference workloads. You will partner with silicon vendors, hyperscalers, OEMs, and ODMs while influencing industry standards and mentoring the next generation of platform architects. If you want to architect the future of AI infrastructure at a company that is defining the connectivity backbone of modern data centers, this is your role. Key Responsibilities AI Platform & Rack-Scale Architecture Define the end-to-end architecture for AI platforms, from node-level design to rack-scale composable systems Drive adoption of PCIe/UAlink-based fabrics for disaggregated compute, memory, and accelerator scalability Architect solutions for GPU/accelerator-dense systems optimized for AI training and inference workloads Lead integration of connectivity solutions — retimers, switches, and fabric controllers — aligned with Astera Labs' product ecosystem System Architecture & Platform Leadership Lead system architecture and design for high-performance compute platforms optimized for AI and accelerator-driven workloads Design and integrate PCIe-based subsystems including GPU, accelerator, and high-speed I/O components leveraging PCIe Gen5/6 technologies Define and implement GPU-enabled server platforms for AI training, inference, and HPC workloads Architect and optimize high-speed Ethernet networking interfaces (25G/100G/400G+) within platform designs Define the technical vision and multi-year product roadmap for AI infrastructure platforms Platform Management & Cross-Functional Leadership Define and implement platform management solutions including BMC integration, telemetry, health monitoring, and system-level diagnostics Collaborate with cross-functional teams spanning hardware, firmware, BIOS, and OS to ensure seamless platform integration Partner with silicon vendors, OEMs, and hyperscalers on custom platform development aligned with Astera Labs' connectivity ecosystem Drive performance optimization across PCIe topology, accelerator interconnects, and memory subsystems Own end-to-end AI platform performance strategy including PCIe topology optimization, bandwidth scaling, latency reduction, and CPU performance tuning for AI orchestration workloads Lead performance tuning for multi-accelerator systems (GPU/ASIC/FPGA), high-throughput data pipelines, and distributed AI workloads Ecosystem & Industry Leadership Collaborate with silicon vendors (CPU, GPU, AI accelerators), connectivity ecosystem partners, OEMs, ODMs, and hyperscalers Influence industry standards across OpenBMC, Redfish, OCP, and related consortia Mentor senior engineers and grow deep technical bench strength across the organization Represent Astera Labs as a recognized thought leader in AI infrastructure and platform innovation Basic Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field 15+ years of experience in system architecture, server firmware, or platform engineering Deep expertise in server BIOS/UEFI, OpenBMC and BMC firmware stacks, and Redfish or datacenter management frameworks Strong knowledge of PCIe architecture and performance optimization (Gen4/5/6) Experience with CPU, memory, and system-level performance tuning for high-performance computing or AI platforms Strong programming experience in C/C++ and low-level system software Proven track record of leading cross-functional, large-scale architecture initiatives Preferred Qualifications Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field Experience with rack-scale composable infrastructure and disaggregated architectures Background in AI training clusters, accelerator-based systems, or hyperscale datacenter design Expertise in high-speed interconnect solutions such as retimers, switches, and fabric ICs Experience with platform lifecycle management systems and fleet-level automation Contributions to industry standards bodies or open-source firmware ecosystems Demonstrated ability to define multi-year technical roadmaps and influence executive strategy 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.