Role OverviewAstera Labs is scaling at breakneck speed to power the next generation of rack-scale AI infrastructure, and our ability to hire exceptional silicon and hardware talent is what keeps us ahead. As a Principal Technical Recruiter, you will own full-cycle recruiting for highly specialized hardware and semiconductor roles, partnering directly with engineering leaders to build the teams designing purpose-built connectivity solutions for the world's most demanding AI workloads.
This is a high-impact, high-visibility role where every hire moves the business forward. You will act as a strategic talent advisor, bring deep market intelligence on the semiconductor landscape, and deliver a world-class candidate experience - all while helping shape how a hyper-growth company builds its most critical engineering teams.
Key ResponsibilitiesFull-Cycle Recruiting- Lead end-to-end recruiting for hardware, silicon, and semiconductor roles across engineering functions.
- Source, engage, and close hard-to-find passive candidates in a highly competitive talent market.
- Manage the candidate pipeline with rigor, ensuring speed, quality, and an exceptional candidate experience at every stage.
Strategic Partnership- Partner with hiring managers and engineering leaders to define role requirements, calibrate talent, and build tailored search strategies.
- Serve as a trusted talent advisor, bringing market insights on semiconductor and hardware hiring trends, compensation, and competitive intelligence.
- Influence hiring decisions with data, structured interviewing best practices, and a consultative approach.
Talent Strategy & Process Improvement- Develop and execute proactive sourcing strategies to build talent pipelines for critical and niche silicon roles.
- Lead strategic workforce and hiring planning in partnership with leadership to anticipate future talent needs and align recruiting to business goals.
- Drive continuous process improvement, leveraging recruiting tools and analytics to increase efficiency, quality, and hiring outcomes.
- Author and maintain clear documentation, playbooks, interview guides, and process standards to scale recruiting best practices across teams.
- Champion inclusive hiring practices to attract and secure diverse, high-caliber technical talent.
Basic Qualifications- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
- 10+ years of full-cycle recruiting experience, with a strong track record of closing technical and engineering roles.
- Direct recruiting experience within the hardware, semiconductor, or broader silicon industry (or comparable experience recruiting for silicon-related technical fields).
- Demonstrated success sourcing and closing passive, hard-to-fill candidates in a competitive market.
- Strong partnership and consultative skills, with the ability to advise and influence senior engineering leaders.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience recruiting for analog, digital, firmware, verification, physical design, or system engineering roles.
- Deep understanding of the semiconductor and AI infrastructure talent landscape.
- Proficiency with applicant tracking systems and modern sourcing tools and analytics.
- Experience recruiting in a hyper-growth or fast-paced technology environment.
- Proven ability to lead strategic planning, process improvement initiatives, and author clear recruiting documentation and playbooks.
- Excellent communication skills and a passion for delivering an outstanding candidate experience.
Base salary range is $166,500 to $185,000 depending on experience, level, and business need. This role may be eligible for discretionary bonus, incentives and benefits.
