Are you a big thinker, innovator, problem seeker, and natural leader with a strong technical foundation and business acumen? Do you thrive on ambiguity, autonomy, and operating as the founder of a startup? Are you energized by identifying high-impact problems, assembling the right talent and partnerships, and turning bold ideas into new businesses? Cirrus Venture Labs (CVL) may be the place for you.
Cirrus Venture Labs is Cirrus Logic's dedicated startup-to-business-unit incubation engine, focused on developing disruptive, scalable, and monetizable innovations that solve high-impact industry problems. Our vision is to be a globally recognized innovation engine that positions Cirrus Logic to repeatedly shape and transform semiconductor markets. We do so by empowering customers to deliver innovative solutions that would otherwise not be possible. CVL operates through a unique decentralized model that combines focused technology incubation, cross-functional engineering teams, strategic partnerships, and external ventures to accelerate the development of foundational technologies and silicon-centric business models in markets new to Cirrus Logic.
Our innovation interests span the rapidly evolving intersection of the physical and digital worlds, including Physical AI, edge computing and algorithms, intelligent sensing and sensor networks, data center power infrastructure, and advanced control and drive systems. We seek opportunities to leverage Cirrus Logic's strengths in mixed-signal processing, power, sensing, and embedded systems while building new capabilities through external partnerships and technology incubation.
As an Innovation Manager (IM), you will operate as an internal founder, taking ownership of emerging technology ventures from problem discovery and opportunity definition through prototyping, business validation, and incubation toward scale. You will be responsible for shaping the technical and commercial vision, identifying critical assumptions, securing the resources and partnerships needed to accelerate development, and building conviction around opportunities with the potential to create new product categories and businesses. You will work with considerable autonomy, leveraging internal engineering teams, startups, customers, industry experts, and external partners to transform ambitious hypotheses into validated, commercially compelling innovations.
Key Responsibilities
- Venture Leadership & Ownership: Act as the founder and directly responsible individual for emerging technology ventures, owning their vision, strategy, execution, and progression from early exploration through incubation and business-unit transition.
- Innovation Funnel Management: Lead the identification, assessment, and prioritization of high-impact industry problems and emerging technology opportunities, leveraging Cirrus Logic's core competencies while exploring new capabilities and markets.
- Technology & Market Exploration: Investigate emerging opportunities across Physical AI, edge intelligence, sensor networks, advanced power delivery, control systems, and other technologies bridging the physical and digital worlds.
- Collaboration & Prototyping: Mobilize internal engineering teams, startups, customers, and external experts to rapidly prototype and validate disruptive technologies, architectures, and applications.
- Impact & Value Assessment: Develop compelling technology and business hypotheses, assess market potential and differentiation, define critical assumptions and success criteria, and drive evidence-based investment decisions.
- Strategic Partnerships & Deal Execution: Identify, structure, negotiate, and help close external technology partnerships, co-development agreements, licensing arrangements, and strategic collaborations that accelerate technology development and reduce execution risk.
- Venture Funding & Resource Development: Develop investment proposals, secure internal funding and resources, and explore creative external funding and partnership models to accelerate technology development and maximize capital efficiency.
- Customer & Ecosystem Engagement: Build relationships with lighthouse customers, startups, venture investors, academic institutions, and industry experts to validate unmet needs, identify emerging technologies, and establish strategic collaborations.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Assemble and lead multidisciplinary teams across engineering, research, product, and business functions, aligning stakeholders and resources around shared venture objectives.
- Stakeholder Communication: Develop compelling narratives, business cases, and investment recommendations, communicating venture progress, risks, opportunities, and strategic value to senior leadership and stakeholders.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Educational Background: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- Experience: Minimum of 7 years in technical product leadership, technology development, engineering leadership, or entrepreneurial roles, with experience advancing emerging technologies in semiconductors, software, embedded systems, or related industries.
- Technical Expertise: Strong technical foundation in hardware and/or software systems and architectures, with demonstrated depth in at least one relevant domain and the ability to rapidly develop working knowledge across unfamiliar technologies.
- Entrepreneurial Mindset: Demonstrated ability to operate with autonomy in ambiguous environments, formulate technology and business hypotheses, make informed decisions under uncertainty, and take end-to-end ownership of outcomes.
- Innovation & R&D Leadership: Proven ability to identify high-impact problems, evaluate nascent technologies, define technical and commercial success criteria, and advance concepts through prototyping and validation.
- Business & Commercial Acumen: Ability to assess market opportunities, competitive differentiation, business models, investment requirements, and commercialization pathways for emerging technologies.
- External Partnerships & Negotiation: Experience developing and negotiating commercial or technical agreements with external organizations, including technology licensing, joint development, strategic partnerships, or other collaborative arrangements.
- Cross-Functional Leadership: Proven ability to influence, mobilize, and lead multidisciplinary teams across engineering, research, product, and business functions without relying solely on direct organizational authority.
- Communication Skills: Exceptional ability to translate complex technical and business concepts into compelling narratives, investment proposals, and actionable recommendations for technical teams, external partners, and executive leadership.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Advanced Degree: Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant technical discipline, or an MBA with a strong technical foundation.
- Relevant Technology Domains: Deep experience in one or more areas including Physical AI and edge ML algorithms, embedded compute architectures, intelligent sensing and distributed sensor networks, data center power infrastructure, power electronics, robotics, or advanced control and drive systems.
- Startup & Venture Experience: Experience founding, building, or leading early-stage technology ventures, or participating in corporate incubation, venture studios, or new business creation initiatives.
- Strategic Deal Making: Demonstrated experience structuring and closing technology partnerships, co-development agreements, licensing arrangements, or strategic investments, including familiarity with IP rights, exclusivity, funding milestones, and commercial terms.
- Technology Scouting & Ecosystem Engagement: Established network and experience engaging with startups, venture capital firms, universities, research institutions, and emerging technology ecosystems.
- Rapid Prototyping & Incubation: Experience leading agile, cross-disciplinary development teams to rapidly test technical hypotheses, validate customer needs, and advance early-stage concepts toward scalable products.
- Business Development & Investment: Experience developing business cases, financial models, investment proposals, and commercialization strategies for new technologies or emerging markets.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field
- At least 7 years of experience in technical product leadership, technology development, engineering leadership, or entrepreneurial roles
- Experience advancing emerging technologies in semiconductors, software, embedded systems, or related industries
- Strong technical foundation in hardware and/or software systems and architectures
- Demonstrated ability to operate autonomously in ambiguous environments and own outcomes end to end
- Experience identifying high-impact problems, evaluating emerging technologies, and advancing concepts through prototyping and validation
- Ability to assess market opportunities, competitive differentiation, business models, investment requirements, and commercialization pathways
- Experience developing and negotiating commercial or technical agreements, including licensing, joint development, or strategic partnerships
- Ability to influence, mobilize, and lead multidisciplinary teams across engineering, research, product, and business functions
- Exceptional communication skills for translating complex technical and business concepts into investment proposals and recommendations
- Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant technical discipline, or an MBA with a strong technical foundation
- Deep experience in Physical AI, edge machine learning, embedded compute, intelligent sensing, sensor networks, power infrastructure, power electronics, robotics, or advanced control systems
- Experience founding, building, or leading early-stage technology ventures, corporate incubation, venture studios, or new business initiatives
- Experience structuring and closing technology partnerships, co-development agreements, licensing arrangements, or strategic investments
- Established network involving startups, venture capital firms, universities, research institutions, or emerging technology ecosystems
- Experience leading rapid prototyping and incubation efforts with agile, cross-disciplinary teams
- Experience developing business cases, financial models, investment proposals, and commercialization strategies
- Authorization to work for any employer in the United States without employment visa sponsorship
- Ability to access controlled technical data without Cirrus Logic obtaining an export license
Cirrus Logic Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cirrus Logic and has not been reviewed or approved by Cirrus Logic.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare includes multiple medical, dental and vision options, mental‑health resources, wellness programs, and access to an on‑site clinic in Austin. Feedback suggests these offerings underpin strong total‑rewards sentiment.
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Parental & Family Support — Programs span paid parental leave, fertility/adoption/surrogacy coverage, backup/dependent‑care supports, and a structured flex return. Feedback suggests family‑building depth is a notable strength of the package.
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Strong & Reliable Incentives — Compensation design features semiannual performance bonuses, profit‑sharing, and recognition awards that augment base pay. Feedback suggests these incentives help maintain competitive total compensation in key engineering roles.
Cirrus Logic Insights
What We Do
Cirrus Logic is a leading supplier of low-power, high-precision mixed-signal processing solutions for mobile and consumer applications. The company has a robust portfolio of sophisticated low-power products, including boosted amplifiers, smart codecs, camera controllers, haptic driver and sensing solutions, power conversion and control Integrated Circuits, and fast-charging Integrated Circuits. These solutions have innovative technology, software and associated algorithms incorporated. With a strong intellectual property portfolio and extensive mixed-signal expertise, Cirrus Logic is well-positioned to drive innovation and growth in the evolving markets of audio and high-performance mixed-signal processing technologies. We are hiring like crazy! Please visit our careers portal at cirrus.jobs to check out our available openings!
Why Work With Us
Engineering drives our company, and innovation isn’t just encouraged – it’s expected! This is a culture where you get to work with some of the largest, most innovative customers and products on the planet on a daily basis and where everyone is a key contributor to the company’s success. There are no Miltons here!
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