HW Electrical Validation Intern

Location: San Jose, California
Employment type: Internship
Team: Hardware Electrical Validation

About the role

Astera Labs is seeking a HW Electrical Validation Intern to help validate the hardware products that enable high-speed connectivity for AI and cloud infrastructure. In this role, you will gain hands-on lab experience with board-level validation—testing systems that incorporate Astera Labs chips—and work with hardware and ASIC designers to bring up boards, execute validation plans, analyze data, and communicate results.

This is a practical, project-based opportunity for someone who enjoys working close to hardware, learning through measurement, and turning technical observations into clear next steps.

What you’ll do

• Support board bring-up and initial hardware checks, including visual inspection, impedance and short checks, power-rail and voltage measurements, reference-clock checks, I²C-tree checks, and MCU firmware flashing/loading.

• Help build and execute electrical validation plans for hardware products and externally sourced hardware.

• Set up lab measurements and collect data for power, clock, and interface validation under the guidance of experienced engineers.

• Assist with power-validation activities such as noise and ripple measurements, load transients, monotonic ramp behavior, reset recovery, power sequencing, and regulator analysis.

• Use first-principles troubleshooting to investigate defined issues, document evidence, and recommend next steps.

• Analyze results and maintain clear validation records, reports, issue updates, and technical documentation.

• Collaborate with Hardware, ASIC, Firmware, System Validation, ATE, Product Applications, and manufacturing partners as needed to support bring-up and validation readiness.

• Own one scoped deliverable with visible output, such as a data package, automation script, documentation page, report update, or validation improvement.

• Share progress in team syncs and project reviews, seek feedback, and communicate blockers early.

What we’re looking for

• Currently pursuing a degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.

• Hands-on academic, project, or laboratory experience with electronics, electrical measurements, or hardware debugging.

• Familiarity with core electrical concepts and a willingness to learn board-level validation methods and lab workflows.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to break down a technical problem and escalate with data.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills and a collaborative working style.

• Interest in scripting, data analysis, or automation to make validation workflows more repeatable and efficient.

• Curiosity, humility, attention to detail, and the ability to learn new tools and processes quickly.

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 form $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.

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