Principal Verification Engineer

Location: San Jose, California, United States

Department: Design Verification CCE2

Astera Labs is seeking a Principal Design Verification Engineer with strong problem-solving abilities and a passion for developing robust verification methodologies for complex ASICs. The ideal candidate will have a solid background in SystemVerilog and experience with C/C++, Python, or similar scripting languages. This role involves full lifecycle verification—from planning and test development to debugging and coverage closure—contributing to the success of cutting-edge SoC designs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the functional verification of advanced ASICs, including test planning, development, execution, and coverage analysis.
• Collaborate closely with software and system validation teams to create and execute test plans on emulation platforms.
• Apply both directed and constrained-random verification techniques using SystemVerilog/UVM and other relevant tools.
• Debug test failures, analyze coverage results, and close functional coverage gaps to ensure comprehensive verification.
• Work with RTL designers to troubleshoot and resolve design issues.
• Drive verification strategy and methodology for SoCs in server and networking applications.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (Master’s preferred).
• 8+ years of experience in SoC verification, particularly for server and networking applications.
• Expertise in SystemVerilog/UVM and hands-on experience across the full verification lifecycle.
• Proficiency with industry-standard simulators, version control, and regression systems.
• Strong debugging and coverage analysis skills.
• Experience developing and executing test sequences, generating stimuli, and identifying verification holes.
• Familiarity with verification of switching architectures, including packet processing and forwarding engines.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with third-party Verification IP for protocols such as PCIe, Ethernet, and InfiniBand.
• Background in Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures for smart NICs and AI accelerators.
• Knowledge of Ethernet/PCIe switching and central buffer architectures.
• Experience with emulation platforms and hardware-software co-verification

Salary range is $185,000 to $230,000 depending on experience, level, and business need. This role may be eligible for discretionary bonus, incentives and benefits.