Senior Director of SW Development Tools

Description:

About Ceva:

Ceva is the leader in innovative silicon and software IP solutions that enable smart edge products to connect, sense, and infer data more reliably and efficiently. We help the world’s leading semiconductor companies and original equipment manufacturers turn great ideas into extraordinary products. We create and license technology that powers the newest generation of smart edge devices, and provide innovative silicon and software IP solutions for artificial intelligence, computer vision, audio processing, sensor fusion, 5G and satellite communication, and wireless connectivity.

About The Role:

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Senior Director of Software Development Tools to lead a team of approximately 50 engineers delivering high‑performance development tools for advanced AI and Wireless platforms. In this role, you will provide strong technical and organizational leadership, guide the team through complex engineering challenges, and build an efficient organization that enables fast, reliable delivery of production‑quality tools.

You will work closely with business units and customers to understand their needs and constraints, support ongoing development efforts, and help drive the evolution of innovative tooling solutions. Our development tools increasingly incorporate AI‑Agentic workflows, where software agents contribute to analysis, optimization, and coordination across the development lifecycle, while operating within structured and well‑governed systems.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Execution

• Lead and manage a multidisciplinary organization of ~50 engineers delivering mission‑critical development tools.
• Provide clear direction and guidance to ensure high engineering standards, effective problem‑solving, and on‑time delivery.
• Establish and continuously improve organizational structures, development processes, and execution practices to support efficiency and scalability.

AI‑Agentic Development Tooling

• Guide the development of tools that incorporate AI‑Agentic flows, where agents support and orchestrate parts of the development process such as compilation, debugging, simulation, and analysis.
• Ensure agent‑based capabilities are designed with clear boundaries, traceability, and validation, suitable for enterprise and production environments.
• Balance innovation with stability, ensuring AI‑driven components integrate smoothly into established toolchains and workflows.

High‑Performance Toolchains

• Oversee the development of compilers, debuggers, simulators, and related tooling optimized for performance and accuracy.
• Ensure tools enable fast and reliable modeling of complex AI accelerators and wireless systems.
• Maintain focus on production requirements, including correctness, determinism, scalability, and long‑term maintainability.

Business & Customer Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with business units, platform teams, and customers to understand tooling needs and priorities.
• Translate requirements into clear technical roadmaps and execution plans.
• Serve as a senior technical partner, ensuring alignment between engineering delivery and business objectives.

Team Development & Culture

• Build, mentor, and retain a strong engineering leadership team.
• Encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing, and professional growth across the organization.
• Foster a culture that values engineering rigor, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (advanced degree preferred).
• Proven experience leading large software engineering teams delivering complex, production‑grade systems.
• Strong background in systems‑level software development, including solid expertise in C++.
• Experience or working knowledge of AI‑Agentic or agent‑based workflows applied to software tooling or automation.
• Familiarity with development tools such as compilers, debuggers, simulators, or similar infrastructure.
• Strong execution and project leadership skills, with the ability to manage priorities and cross‑team dependencies.
• Effective communication and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Practical, results‑oriented mindset with a focus on quality, scalability, and reliability.