Senior Principal Executive Recruiter

Role Overview

The Senior Principal Executive Recruiter will serve as a strategic talent advisor to executive leaders, helping Astera Labs understand its leadership needs before a requisition opens. translate business priorities into proactive executive talent strategies that support the company’s next phase of growth.

Working six or more months ahead of anticipated hiring needs, you will combine semiconductor and silicon market intelligence with a deep understanding of Astera Labs’ organization. This fully in-person role in San Jose will shape how a hyper-growth company builds the leadership capacity required to advance rack-scale AI infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

Organizational & Executive Talent Strategy

• Partner with executive leaders to understand business priorities, organizational design, and capability gaps across the company.
• Develop rolling six-month executive talent plans that anticipate leadership needs well before roles are formally approved or posted.
• Translate business growth plans into clear recommendations on which capabilities, leadership profiles, and talent pools Astera Labs should prioritize.

Market Intelligence & Strategic Advisory

• Analyze semiconductor and silicon talent markets, competitor activity, talent availability, and leadership trends to inform planning.
• Partner with stakeholders to surface emerging capability needs, align on future leadership priorities, and shape proactive talent strategies.
• Use market insight and organizational context to challenge assumptions, sharpen role definitions, and guide investment in critical talent.

Proactive Executive Pipeline Development

• Build and maintain relationships with high-impact executives well before a requisition opens, creating durable pipelines for future priorities.
• Develop targeted talent maps for engineering and other executive functions across the semiconductor ecosystem.
• Create engagement strategies that keep priority talent connected to Astera Labs’ mission, technology, and long-term opportunity.

Executive Partnership & Search Leadership

• Advise senior stakeholders on leadership profiles, assessment criteria, and timing for opening critical roles.
• Establish a clear search strategy and decision framework, then guide execution from kickoff through close in alignment with the broader talent plan.
• Deliver concise executive-level updates that connect talent-market signals, organizational gaps, and recommended actions.

Basic Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant recruiting or talent acquisition experience, including at least 5 years focused on executive recruiting.
• Must-have: Proven recruiting experience within the semiconductor, silicon, or adjacent hardware technology industry.
• Demonstrated ability to understand organizational priorities, diagnose leadership gaps, and turn business needs into proactive talent plans.
• Track record advising VP, C-suite, and other executive-level stakeholders on critical talent decisions.
• Demonstrated success closing candidates from Senior Director through C-suite roles, including navigating complex motivations, stakeholders, and offers.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, communication skills, and ability to influence senior leaders in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading executive talent reviews, succession planning, workforce planning, or organization-design initiatives.
• Experience building talent intelligence frameworks that connect business strategy, capability gaps, market data, and future hiring priorities.
• Established long-term relationships with senior leaders across semiconductor, silicon, hardware, systems, or related AI infrastructure markets.
• Experience partnering with CEOs, executive leadership teams, and board-level stakeholders on multi-year leadership planning.
• Experience recruiting across multiple executive functions, including engineering, product, operations, sales, or go-to-market leadership.