Astera Labs

Technology

AVPofHardwareEngineeringOperations/Manufacturing

$350–550k ~AI est. San Jose, California, United States
The Brief

“AVP of Hardware Engineering Operations / Manufacturing at Astera Labs. Skills: Hardware manufacturing, Operations leadership, Contract manufacturer management, NPI, DFM. Lead hardware engineering operations. Lead hardware manufacturing organization”

What You'll Achieve.

Drive quality; Drive capacity; Drive cost; Drive time-to-market; Achieve maximum production efficiency; Identify waste reduction; Identify lean manufacturing improvements; Ensure compliance with functional standards; Ensure compliance with safety standards; Prevent reoccurrence of product problems; Improve yield

Industry & Context.

Technology
Problems you'll solve

Troubleshoot operational bottlenecks; Investigate material use variances; Failure analysis; Root-cause fixes; Analyze operational data; Improve yield

Eligibility Requirements

International travel

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, 15+ years hardware manufacturing experience, Significant time leading cable assembly, Significant time leading PCBA manufacturing, Significant time leading board manufacturing, Significant time leading module manufacturing, Significant time leading system/chassis manufacturing, Proven track record managing contract manufacturers in Asia, Experience with site ramps, Experience with multi-site operations, Deep expertise in NPI, Deep expertise in DFM, Deep expertise in mass production ramp, Deep expertise in yield/test, Deep expertise in quality systems, Hands-on experience process engineering, Hands-on experience sustaining engineering, Hands-on experience test engineering, Hands-on experience tooling/automation, Experience leading hardware operations organizations, Experience scaling hardware operations organizations, Willingness to travel internationally

Nice to Have

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Direct experience with Active Electrical Cables, Direct experience with optical transceivers, Direct experience with Smart Cable Modules, Direct experience with high-speed cable/connector assemblies, Experience manufacturing rack-scale systems, Experience manufacturing chassis-class systems, Experience with hyperscale infrastructure, Experience with AI infrastructure, Experience with ODM engagement models, Chinese language proficiency (Mandarin)

What You'll Do.

Lead hardware engineering operations

Lead hardware manufacturing organization

Own day-to-day partnership with contract manufacturers

Drive cadence with contract manufacturers

Drive accountability with contract manufacturers

Drive site ramps with contract manufacturers

Manage ODM engagements

Partner with Hardware Engineering leaders

Partner with Product leaders

Partner with Supply Chain leaders

Partner with Quality leaders

Represent hardware operations in executive reviews

Drive Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews

Validate completeness of product designs

Validate manufacturability of product designs

Lead production scaling

Estimate costs for new designs

Estimate production times for new designs

Estimate staffing requirements for new designs

Prepare technical documentation for manufacturing processes

Maintain technical documentation for engineering procedures

Design factory layouts

Analyze workflows for production efficiency

Troubleshoot operational bottlenecks

Investigate material use variances

Conduct ongoing time analyses

Conduct ongoing cost analyses

Identify waste reduction opportunities

Identify lean manufacturing improvements

Architect test parameters for finished products

Validate product specifications

Coordinate design of automated test equipment

Coordinate procurement of automated test equipment

Coordinate build of automated test equipment

Coordinate debug of automated test equipment

Test products for anomalies

Ensure compliance with functional standards

Ensure compliance with safety standards

Lead failure analysis using statistical methods

Recommend changes in designs

Recommend changes in tolerances

Recommend changes in processing methods

Apply root-cause fixes to prevent reoccurrence

Monitor operational data

Analyze operational data

Evaluate product performance

Drive technical design changes

Assess manufacturing machinery

Select manufacturing machinery

Schedule installation of manufacturing machinery

Assess industrial processing systems

Select industrial processing systems

Schedule installation of industrial processing systems

Design custom fixtures

Design manufacturing aids

Implement custom jigs

Implement custom fixtures

Implement manufacturing aids

Apply automation techniques

Apply robotics programming

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Partner with Hardware Engineering; Partner with Product; Partner with Supply Chain; Partner with Quality leaders; Represent hardware operations; Work with contract manufacturers; Work with ODM partners

Communication Scope

Executive reviews

Process & Methodology

NPI, DFM, Production scaling, Process management, Resource planning

Free ATS check

Applying for this AVP of Hardware Engineering Operations / Manufacturing role?

Most applicants get filtered before a human reads their resume. See if yours makes the cut.

How to Apply on Greenhouse

  • Create a Greenhouse profile before applying — it saves time across multiple applications.
  • Upload your resume as a PDF; the parser handles it better than Word.
  • Answer all knockout questions carefully — wrong answers auto-reject before a human sees you.
  • Enable email notifications to track application status in real time.

ANONYMOUS · UNFILTERED

What do employees actually say about Astera Labs?

Real rants from real employees. Read before you apply.

Read Company Rants →