diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numpy/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numpy/default.nix
index 965dda8c43a..75b946b4051 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/numpy/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/numpy/default.nix
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
 
   preConfigure = ''
     sed -i 's/-faltivec//' numpy/distutils/system_info.py
+    export NPY_NUM_BUILD_JOBS=$NIX_BUILD_CORES
   '';
 
   preBuild = ''
@@ -32,6 +33,8 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
     EOF
   '';
 
+  enableParallelBuilding = true;
+
   checkPhase = ''
     runHook preCheck
     pushd dist