Director, Customer Hardware Engineering

Job Title

Director, Customer Hardware Engineering

Role Summary

Lead technical customer engagements and the Field Application Engineering (FAE) function to translate customer silicon needs into actionable hardware and software requirements. Connect customer architectures and workflows to Tenstorrent platforms so customer models run efficiently on our silicon.

This is a hybrid role based out of Toronto, Austin (TX), or Belgrade; the role manages strategic customer relationships and coordinates cross-functional delivery with internal hardware, software, and verification teams.

Experience Level

Senior — director-level role. The posting does not specify a numeric years-of-experience requirement; candidates will be assessed for an appropriate senior level during interviews.

Responsibilities

Own technical customer relationships and ensure customer requirements are converted into engineering specifications and deliverables.

• Act as primary technical liaison between strategic customers, FAEs, and internal hardware/software teams.
• Coordinate customer-specific NEO silicon configurations and required RTL/customization work.
• Oversee RTL change requests and drive necessary silicon customizations to meet customer needs.
• Ensure close collaboration between customer silicon teams and internal design verification (DV) for reliable delivery.
• Align cross-functional teams (hardware, firmware, software, verification) on customer technical goals and schedules.
• Translate customer workloads and feedback into product roadmap inputs.

Requirements

Key must-have skills and constraints for success in this role.

• Proven experience leading customer-facing technical teams and Field Application Engineering organizations.
• Strong technical background in RTL, verification, and physical design for custom silicon programs.
• Systems-level thinker who understands the impact of RTL and microarchitectural choices on software and performance.
• Clear, effective communicator capable of aligning customers, FAEs, and internal stakeholders around technical plans.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex customer programs and coordinate multi-team delivery under schedule constraints.
• Ability to work from and travel to the listed base locations (Toronto, Austin, or Belgrade) as required for customer engagements.
• Must be eligible to access U.S. export-controlled technology; employment may be contingent on citizenship, permanent residency, or prior license approval under U.S. export laws.

Nice-to-have:

• Direct experience with AI silicon platforms, model performance tuning, or open-source AI software stacks in production.
• Prior involvement in customizing silicon for specific customer models or workloads.

Education Requirements

Not specified.

About the Company

Company: Tenstorrent

Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States

Tenstorrent is a technology company focused on designing innovative computing solutions. They are known for their expertise in the development of advanced hardware, including ASICs and SoCs, aimed at enhancing performance and efficiency in various applications.