diff --git a/scripts/pyivastest/IvasSvnBuilder.py b/scripts/pyivastest/IvasSvnBuilder.py
index d34b64fabe87545d5cedf0d457be80b7c542448a..f12e71428646d4a115242ce0da5b034866e62a66 100644
--- a/scripts/pyivastest/IvasSvnBuilder.py
+++ b/scripts/pyivastest/IvasSvnBuilder.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ import xml.etree.ElementTree
 import logging
 from getpass import getpass
 import urllib.parse
+from multiprocessing import cpu_count
 
 from pyivastest.IvasModeRunner import *
 from pyivastest.IvasModeAnalyzer import *
@@ -1176,7 +1177,9 @@ class IvasBuilderAndRunner(IvasBaseClass):
         max_workers=1,
     ):
 
-        make_options = list()
+        n_cpus = cpu_count()
+        # do not use all cores to avoid weird getting-stuck issues observed on Mac...
+        make_options = ["-j" ,f"{n_cpus - 2}"]
         run_tool = ""
         if defines_to_enable is None:
             defines_to_enable_check = []