Lab Manager

Astera Labs looking for an experienced and hands-on Lab Manager to lead Lab operations.

The Lab Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operation, maintenance, expansion, and continuous improvement of the lab environment supporting roadmap projects.

This role requires a highly organized, hands-on individual who can manage lab facilities and infrastructure, bring up and maintain testing setups, manage equipment and inventory, coordinate procurement and vendors, and provide timely support to validation and engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Lab Facilities & Infrastructure
• Own and manage all lab facilities, infrastructure, and day-to-day lab operations.
• Build and expand new lab facilities to support current and future roadmap requirements.
• Plan lab space, power, cooling, networking, safety, and equipment placement according to project requirements.
• Ensure the lab is organized, safe, reliable, and ready to support engineering activities.
• Equipment & Test Setup Management
• Set up, bring up, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot lab equipment and hardware testing environments.
• Manage servers, networking equipment, test instruments, power supplies, cooling systems, environmental chambers, and other infrastructure.
• Maintain high lab availability and minimize downtime impacting schedules.
• Procurement & Vendor Management
• Identify equipment and infrastructure requirements based on project needs and roadmap plans.
• Manage the procurement process for new lab equipment, tools, components, and consumables.
• Work with suppliers and vendors to obtain quotations, evaluate options, coordinate deliveries, and resolve technical or service issues.
• Evaluate equipment based on technical requirements, availability, performance, power consumption, space, and cost.
• Inventory Management
• Own and maintain accurate lab inventory, including test equipment, servers, cables, adapters, components, tools, and consumables.
• Establish and maintain an effective system for equipment tracking, allocation, and lifecycle management.
• Ensure required equipment and materials are available in advance of project execution.
• Track equipment status, calibration, repairs, and end-of-life requirements.
• Hands-on Lab Support
• Perform hands-on assembly, cabling, soldering, rework, and modification of hardware setups when required - advance 
• Assist engineers with hardware bring-up, and lab infrastructure issues.
• Troubleshoot electrical, and system-level lab issues.
• Support the integration of new equipment and test setups into existing lab infrastructure.

• 5+ years of relevant hands-on experience in lab operations, system validation, hardware engineering, or a related environment.
• Proven experience managing and operating hardware/system labs, preferably in the semiconductor or ASIC industry - advance 
• Hands-on experience setting up, maintaining, and troubleshooting complex lab environments and test equipment.
• Experience working with Windows and Linux operating systems.
• Experience with lab equipment such as network equipment, cables, environmental chambers, cooling systems, etc.
• Hands-on experience with soldering, hardware rework, cabling, connectors, and lab assembly - an advantage.
• Experience managing lab inventory, equipment procurement, maintenance, and vendor relationships.
• Ability to work with power, cooling, space, networking, and infrastructure constraints when designing or expanding lab environments.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with a hands-on, can-do approach.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced engineering environment.
• Strong ownership, motivation, independence, and ability to work effectively as part of a cross-functional team.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in English and Hebrew.

• Experience working in ASIC, semiconductor, silicon validation, or system validation environments.
• Strong knowledge of networking protocols and infrastructure.
• Familiarity with lab automation, remote lab access, and automated test environments.
• Experience with Linux-based servers, networking.
• Familiarity with laboratory standards, safety requirements.
• Experience working with multiple equipment vendors and managing vendor relationships.
• Experience creating lab documentation, procedures, equipment tracking systems, and operational standards.