System Validation Engineer Intern

Astera Labs · San Jose, CA · Internship · On-site

About Astera Labs

Astera Labs builds connectivity solutions that help power modern AI infrastructure. Our System Validation teams verify that released features work reliably across hardware, firmware, software, and real-world use cases before products are deployed and handed to customers.

The opportunity

Join the System Validation team and help validate complete systems after silicon and electrical validation. You’ll learn how to turn product requirements and release information into system-level test scenarios, execute tests on devices and platforms, investigate issues, and provide the evidence needed for release, interoperability, and compliance decisions.

This internship is designed for someone who enjoys working across layers of a system: understanding the architecture, setting up a device under test, running a functional or stress scenario, analyzing logs and traces, isolating a failure, and communicating what should happen next. You’ll collaborate with firmware, hardware, Electrical Validation, SQA, Product Applications, InterOp, compliance, and other engineering teams.

What you’ll do

• Learn the product architecture, project framework, validation tools, test environment, firmware flows, dashboards, and tracking systems needed to contribute effectively.

• Review product requirements, SQA release notes, firmware builds, specifications, and test plans to understand what must be validated.

• Define or refine system-level test scenarios covering feature functionality, subsystem integration, end-to-end use cases, performance, stress, reliability, and interoperability.

• Prepare test environments and devices under test, including required firmware, hardware, tools, configurations, scripts, and test data.

• Execute test cases on boards, systems, evaluation platforms, or other devices under test and record results in the appropriate test-management or tracking system.

• Validate integration across firmware, hardware, applications, interfaces, and system services under expected and stressed operating conditions.

• Collect logs, traces, screenshots, metrics, configuration details, and other evidence needed to reproduce and explain an issue.

• Analyze unexpected behavior, form hypotheses, reproduce failures, narrow variables, and work with partner teams to identify root causes.

• Log defects with clear reproduction steps, expected and observed behavior, logs, traces, severity, and useful technical context.

• Retest fixes and execute regression suites to verify that changes resolve the issue without impacting existing features or system stability.

• Support interoperability and compliance activities by preparing validated builds, test reports, known-issues lists, and other handoff materials.

• Develop or improve Python, shell, or other automation for test execution, data collection, log analysis, report generation, or regression workflows.

• Maintain Jira, Confluence, dashboards, validation plans, test lists, action items, and project documentation.

• Present your project, results, and key learnings at the end of the internship.

What you bring

• Coursework, projects, research, or hands-on experience in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field.

• Foundational understanding of computer architecture, operating systems, networking, hardware/software integration, or system testing.

• Programming or scripting experience in Python, C/C++, shell, or another language used for test automation and data analysis.

• Comfort working in Linux or a technical lab environment with firmware builds, logs, traces, command-line tools, specifications, and test procedures.

• A methodical approach to validation and debugging: understand the requirement, establish expected behavior, control the environment, collect evidence, and document the result.

• Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain failures, risks, limitations, and recommendations to cross-functional partners.

• Ownership, curiosity, learning agility, and persistence when a failure requires multiple rounds of investigation.

Helpful experience

• System, integration, functional, performance, stress, reliability, regression, interoperability, or compliance testing.

• Linux, firmware update flows, BMC/host systems, PCIe, CXL, Ethernet, SERDES, storage, networking, or AI infrastructure.

• Hardware bring-up, evaluation boards, system test, lab equipment, test fixtures, or device-under-test workflows.

• Python or shell automation, log parsing, dashboards, data analysis, or test-result visualization.

• Bug tracking, Jira dashboards, Confluence documentation, test-management tools, or quality processes.

• Experience writing test plans, test matrices, reproducible bug reports, validation reports, or release-readiness summaries.

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 committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees. We value diverse perspectives and consider qualified candidates witho