In one embodiment, a non-linear power amplifier generates an amplified output signal based on a pre-distorted signal generated by a digital pre-distorter based on an input signal. A feedback path generates a feedback waveform based on the amplified output signal. The feedback waveform is aligned in time with the input signal at the waveform level to identify a corresponding reference waveform. The feedback waveform and the corresponding reference waveform are both divided into a plurality of sub-waveforms. Each feedback sub-waveform is independently aligned in phase with its corresponding reference sub-waveform. The resulting plurality of phase-aligned feedback sub-waveforms are then combined to form a hybrid-aligned waveform that is compared to the reference waveform to adaptively update the digital pre-distorter.