Director of Software Engineering

About the Role

We are seeking a software engineering leader (Director or experienced Sr. Manager ready to grow into this role) to scale our Toronto office. This is a rare opportunity to establish the foundation of a high-impact, AI-driven SaaS company that is transforming semiconductor design.

You'll lead the growth of our Toronto site and scaling it into a high-performing engineering organization. You will be responsible for technical oversight, delivery ownership, and culture building. You are close enough to the technology to mentor engineers and participate in design discussions effectively and make informed technical decisions.

You'll work directly with the VP of Software and collaborate closely with core engineering and science leaders in Silicon Valley to ensure alignment across locations and shared ownership of Cognichip's technical and product vision.

This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives on both building teams and scaling organizations while highly technical in SaaS and AI domains.

Key Responsibilities

● Build & Scale the Toronto Office

○ Hire, onboard, and grow a team of 20-30 engineers across multiple disciplines (frontend, backend, ML/AI, data, devtools).

○ Establish a strong, collaborative, and high-performance culture.

● Stay Technically Engaged

○ Maintain technical credibility while focusing primarily on organizational leadership.

○ Remain close to the stack to contribute in design reviews even if not coding daily

● Develop & Mentor Talent

○ Establish strong connections with universities and local talent market to find and recruit world-class talent

○ Coach and guide engineers, helping them grow into technical leaders.

○ Foster best practices around testing, modularity, documentation, and performance.

● Lead Delivery Across Value Streams

○ Own end-to-end delivery of product features, from planning through execution and adoption.

○ Partner with product, AI, and chip teams to define and execute roadmaps.

● Bridge Toronto & California

○ Ensure alignment across distributed teams and act as a communication bridge between offices.

○ Define engineering rituals and collaboration practices that support cross-site execution.

Ideal Experience

● Proven leadership experience (Sr. Manager, Director, or equivalent) leading teams of 15+ cross-disciplinary engineers, with demonstrated ability to scale organizations.

● 10+ years of professional experience, including progression from hands-on engineer → tech lead → organizational leadership.

● Technical awareness and credibility in modern software stacks (cloud-native, AI/ML, SaaS), even if not coding daily.

● Proven success in scaling teams and delivering complex software products in fast-moving environments.

● Strong track record in end-to-end product delivery: aligning strategy, execution, and outcomes.

● Excellent people leadership skills: hiring, mentoring, and developing engineers at all levels.

● Strong collaboration and communication skills; effective across distributed teams.

What We Offer

● A pivotal role in establishing and scaling Cognichip's Toronto engineering site.

● Direct partnership with Cognichip leadership and close collaboration with cross-disciplinary leaders

● Work at the intersection of AI, semiconductors, and developer tools, solving technically challenging problems.

● Opportunity to recruit from and collaborate with top Canadian universities and institutes (University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Vector Institute, Waterloo AI Institute).

● Competitive compensation package, including early-stage equity in a fast-growing AI startup.

● High-trust, low-ego team culture that values ownership, curiosity, and collaboration.

Level:

We are targeting candidates who are currently at director level to this role. However, if you are currently a Manager or Sr. Manager with proven experience outlined in the "Ideal Experience" section and are ready to take the next step, we encourage you to apply. For the right candidate, this role can be scoped as Manager or Sr. Manager initially with a performance-based growth path as the Toronto site scales.