Platform Solutions Engineer Intern (CE)

Location: Cary, North Carolina, United States

About the role

Astera Labs is seeking a Platform Solutions Engineer Intern to help translate customer, partner, and system requirements into practical computer-engineering platform solutions. You will work at the intersection of computer architecture, platform software, firmware, diagnostics, system validation, product applications, and ecosystem integration.

You will gain hands-on experience understanding server and rack-scale architectures, integrating hardware and software, evaluating connectivity and management workflows, supporting platform demonstrations, and communicating technical recommendations. You will own a scoped project that produces a reusable analysis, diagnostic workflow, automation improvement, integration artifact, or technical presentation.

What you will do

Study server, AI infrastructure, and rack-scale architectures, including CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, accelerators, and the connectivity paths between them.
Translate customer, partner, product, and system requirements into platform assumptions, architecture diagrams, interface requirements, configuration options, and technical questions.
Analyze how hardware, firmware, SDKs, command-line tools, management interfaces, and platform integrations work together to deliver a usable system solution.
Support device discovery, initialization, configuration, firmware updates, link management, telemetry collection, error reporting, event logging, and diagnostic workflows.
Work with connectivity technologies such as PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, and related high-speed interconnects; help analyze link state, health, performance, and recovery behavior.
Support platform reference designs, application block diagrams, evaluation kits, proof-of-concept builds, interoperability activities, and technical readiness reviews.
Develop or improve Python, C/C++, shell, SDK, CLI, spreadsheet, or other automation for configuration checks, test execution, data collection, log parsing, result reporting, or technical analysis.
Collect and analyze firmware logs, telemetry, performance counters, error events, link traces, protocol data, and system behavior to support root-cause investigations.
Help reproduce system issues, document expected and observed behavior, track action items, and coordinate technical follow-up across engineering teams and ecosystem partners.
Prepare concise technical summaries, comparison tables, presentations, diagrams, FAQs, integration guides, and other materials that make complex platform behavior easier to understand.
Maintain structured trackers for supported configurations, validation status, software and firmware versions, open issues, and upcoming milestones.
Collaborate with Product & Platform, Hardware Engineering, Firmware, Platform Software, System Validation, Sales Engineering, Marketing, Business Development, and ecosystem partners to turn technical findings into actionable recommendations.
Document the completed project, analysis, methodology, results, and recommendations; present the outcome to engineering and cross-functional stakeholders.

What you bring

Enrollment in a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. program in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field.
Coursework, research, or project experience in computer architecture, operating systems, embedded software, networking, digital hardware, systems, or hardware/software integration.
Foundational understanding of processors, memory, I/O, operating systems, firmware, device drivers, or high-speed interfaces.
Programming, scripting, data analysis, or automation experience with Python, C, C++, shell, spreadsheets, or a comparable toolset.
Familiarity with Linux development environments, Git, command-line tools, APIs, debugging, and technical documentation.
Ability to learn complex technical systems, organize ambiguous requirements, analyze tradeoffs, and communicate practical recommendations.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to engineering, product, and business audiences.
Strong ownership, curiosity, practical judgment, and willingness to collaborate across functions.

Preferred qualifications

Familiarity with PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, SerDes, UALink, NVLink, or other high-speed connectivity technologies and standards.
Experience with firmware, SDKs, CLIs, device diagnostics, hardware bring-up, lab validation, interoperability testing, or platform debug.
Familiarity with telemetry, link monitoring, error injection, performance counters, event logs, RAS, secure boot, firmware updates, or recovery workflows.
Exposure to OpenBMC, Redfish, PLDM, gNMI, cloud-native APIs, Kubernetes, or other platform-management and integration technologies.
Experience building dashboards, comparison frameworks, configuration trackers, data analyses, or technical presentations.
Familiarity with CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, rack-scale, or AI infrastructure architectures and their system-level performance considerations.

Internship experience and compensation

This is a paid, hourly U.S. internship. The applicable hourly rate is determined as part of the offer process and specified in the offer letter, depending on education level ranges from $35/hour to $55/hour. U.S. interns currently receive a $500-per-week housing/relocation stipend for the duration of the internship. Interns participate in Early Career programming, including technical and professional-development sessions, community events, and an end-of-program project presentation.

Equal opportunity

Astera Labs is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We encourage anyone with relevant experience to apply.

About the role

What you will do

Study server, AI infrastructure, and rack-scale architectures, including CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, accelerators, and the connectivity paths between them.

Translate customer, partner, product, and system requirements into platform assumptions, architecture diagrams, interface requirements, configuration options, and technical questions.

Analyze how hardware, firmware, SDKs, command-line tools, management interfaces, and platform integrations work together to deliver a usable system solution.

Support device discovery, initialization, configuration, firmware updates, link management, telemetry collection, error reporting, event logging, and diagnostic workflows.

Work with connectivity technologies such as PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, and related high-speed interconnects; help analyze link state, health, performance, and recovery behavior.

Support platform reference designs, application block diagrams, evaluation kits, proof-of-concept builds, interoperability activities, and technical readiness reviews.

Develop or improve Python, C/C++, shell, SDK, CLI, spreadsheet, or other automation for configuration checks, test execution, data collection, log parsing, result reporting, or technical analysis.

Collect and analyze firmware logs, telemetry, performance counters, error events, link traces, protocol data, and system behavior to support root-cause investigations.

Help reproduce system issues, document expected and observed behavior, track action items, and coordinate technical follow-up across engineering teams and ecosystem partners.

Prepare concise technical summaries, comparison tables, presentations, diagrams, FAQs, integration guides, and other materials that make complex platform behavior easier to understand.

Maintain structured trackers for supported configurations, validation status, software and firmware versions, open issues, and upcoming milestones.

Collaborate with Product & Platform, Hardware Engineering, Firmware, Platform Software, System Validation, Sales Engineering, Marketing, Business Development, and ecosystem partners to turn technical findings into actionable recommendations.

Document the completed project, analysis, methodology, results, and recommendations; present the outcome to engineering and cross-functional stakeholders.

What you bring

Enrollment in a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. program in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field.

Coursework, research, or project experience in computer architecture, operating systems, embedded software, networking, digital hardware, systems, or hardware/software integration.

Foundational understanding of processors, memory, I/O, operating systems, firmware, device drivers, or high-speed interfaces.

Programming, scripting, data analysis, or automation experience with Python, C, C++, shell, spreadsheets, or a comparable toolset.

Familiarity with Linux development environments, Git, command-line tools, APIs, debugging, and technical documentation.

Ability to learn complex technical systems, organize ambiguous requirements, analyze tradeoffs, and communicate practical recommendations.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to engineering, product, and business audiences.

Strong ownership, curiosity, practical judgment, and willingness to collaborate across functions.

Preferred qualifications

Familiarity with PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, SerDes, UALink, NVLink, or other high-speed connectivity technologies and standards.

Experience with firmware, SDKs, CLIs, device diagnostics, hardware bring-up, lab validation, interoperability testing, or platform debug.

Familiarity with telemetry, link monitoring, error injection, performance counters, event logs, RAS, secure boot, firmware updates, or recovery workflows.

Exposure to OpenBMC, Redfish, PLDM, gNMI, cloud-native APIs, Kubernetes, or other platform-management and integration technologies.

Experience building dashboards, comparison frameworks, configuration trackers, data analyses, or technical presentations.

Familiarity with CPU, GPU, memory, storage, networking, rack-scale, or AI infrastructure architectures and their system-level performance considerations.

Internship experience and compensation