Optical Firmware Engineer, Principal
Astera LabsSan Jose, California, United States
Posted May 19, 2026
Full Time
About the Company
Astera Labs provides rack-scale AI infrastructure through purpose-built connectivity solutions.
Job Description
Astera Labs is seeking an Optical Firmware Engineer, Principal to develop, optimize, and maintain embedded firmware for optical engines, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) optical modules. This includes control of lasers, modulators, photodetectors, thermal management, calibration, and high-speed link optimization in silicon photonics systems.
Requirements
- BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field
- 12+ years of industry experience
- Strong experience in embedded firmware development (bare-metal or RTOS) for optical or high-speed communication systems
- Knowledge of photonics concepts: lasers, modulators, photodiodes, TIA, thermal tuning
- Proficiency in C/C++, Python (for scripting/tools), and debugging tools (JTAG, oscilloscopes, optical test equipment)
- Experience with high-speed SerDes, signal integrity, or optical link optimization is a plus
- Familiarity with silicon photonics, or pluggable optics (QSFP, OSFP) is highly valued
