Director Digital Design Engineer

Astera Labs • San Jose, CA

28d • $218,500 - $260,000 • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Director of Digital Design Engineering to lead the microarchitecture, RTL implementation, and front-end development of high-performance connectivity solutions for next-generation network controllers. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in front-end ASIC design, strong leadership experience, and a solid understanding of communication and interface standards such as PCIe, Ethernet, UALink.This role requires on-site presence.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering required; Master's degree preferred.
• 12+ years of experience developing or supporting complex SoC/silicon products for server, storage, or networking applications.
• 5+ years of technical leadership or engineering management experience.
• Strong professional presence with the ability to manage multiple priorities, prepare for and lead customer discussions, and operate independently with minimal supervision.
• Entrepreneurial, open-minded, and action-oriented mindset with a strong customer focus.
• Authorized to work in the U.S. and able to start immediately.
• Hands-on experience and strong working knowledge of Ethernet or UALink.
• Solid understanding of packet-based switching architectures and network protocol processing.
• Proven experience with switch fabrics, crossbar architecture, and high-speed memory subsystems.
• Familiarity with high-speed interconnect protocols such as Ethernet, UALink, Infinity Fabric, NVLink, or HyperTransport.
• Strong front-end design expertise including architecture, RTL development, simulation, synthesis, timing closure, GLS, and DFT.
• Demonstrated ownership of full-chip or block-level development from architecture through GDS, delivering multiple complex designs into production, working closely with both hardware and software teams.
• Experience with Cadence and/or Synopsys digital design and DFT tool flows.
• Knowledge of DFT methodologies, including stuck-at and transition fault scan insertion.
• Expertise in silicon bring-up, performance tuning, and lab-based debug using equipment such as logic analyzers, scopes, protocol analyzers, and high-speed test setups.
• Experience working with advanced technology nodes (5nm or below).

Nice To Haves

• Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python or equivalent.
• Experience developing or supporting PCIe, Ethernet, or DDR-based products; familiarity with security-related standards.
• Background in developing ASIC design methodologies and driving methodology adoption across teams.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Industry: Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees