Director, Sales Engineering

A Moving Experience.OverviewCerence is a global leader in automotive software and AI-powered mobility solutions. We are seeking an experienced and motivated Team Lead, Sales Engineering to lead a team of three professionals focused on delivering innovative Generative AI and automotive solutions.MissionLead and grow a high-performing global Sales Engineering / Solution Architecture function focused on delivering advanced Generative AI solutions for automotive OEMs. This role combines organizational leadership, technical strategy, and senior customer engagement to ensure Cerence delivers scalable, high-quality GenAI-powered mobility experiences.What You Will OwnProvide leadership and direction to a team of Sales Engineers and Solution Architects, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and capability development.Own the technical strategy across pre-sales and delivery, ensuring architectural consistency, scalability, and alignment with Cerence product direction.Oversee complex customer engagements from discovery through solution design and handover into delivery.Drive standards, playbooks, and global best practices for LLMs, SLMs, orchestration frameworks, and automotive GenAI architectures.Partner with Sales, Product Management, Engineering, and Professional Services to shape customer-ready solutions and influence product roadmap priorities.Represent the Sales Engineering function in senior leadership forums and ensure alignment with business and market objectives.Required Qualifications6+ years of experience in solution engineering, technical pre-sales, or enterprise architecture, ideally in AI, automotive, or cloud-native enterprise software.Proven experience leading technical teams or organizationsDeep understanding of GenAI technologies (LLMs, SLMs, RAG, orchestration frameworks) and modern software/cloud architectures.Strong executive-level communication skills and experience interacting with senior customer stakeholders.Ability to manage strategic priorities across multiple teams and global regions.Excellent English communication skills; German is an advantage.Willingness to travel globally as requiredWhy Join Cerence?At Cerence, we are redefining how people interact with their vehicles through cutting-edge AI technologies. As a Team Lead in our Field organization, you will play a key role in shaping both customer success and the future of automotive AI innovation. You will work in a collaborative, international environment with a culture that values technical leadership, creativity, and impact.Join us to help drive the next generation of AI-powered mobilityCerence Inc. (Nasdaq: CRNC and www.cerence.com) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. Spun out from Nuance in October 2019, Cerence is a new, independent company that has quickly gained traction as a leader in the automotive voice assistant space, working with all of the world’s leading automakers – from Ford and Fiat Chrysler to Daimler, Audi and BMW to Geely and SAIC – to transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of industry experience and leadership and more than 500 million cars on the road today across more than 70 languages. As Cerence looks to the future and continues an ambitious growth agenda, we need someone to join the team and help build the future of voice and AI in cars. This is an exciting opportunity to join Cerence’s passionate, dedicated, global team and be a part of meaningful innovation in a rapidly growing industry.EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERCerence is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all federal, state and local laws that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status, genetic information and other protected classifications. Cerence Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.All prospective and current Employees need to remain vigilant when it comes to executing security policies in the workplace. This includes:- Following workplace security protocols and training programs to familiarize with the ways to maintain a safe workplace.- Following security procedures to report any suspicious activity.- Having respect for corporate security procedures to allow those procedures to be effective.- Adhering to company's compliance and regulations.- Encouraging to follow a zero tolerance for workplace violence.- Basic knowledge of information security and data privacy requirements (e.g., how to protect data & how to be handling this data).- Demonstrative knowledge of information security through internal training programs.