AI Voice Agents Engineering Lead (Santa Bárbara)

AI Voice Agents Engineering Lead Country: Spain IT STARTS HERE Santander ( ) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organization , and our people are at the heart of this journey. Together , we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation , and the courage to challenge what’s possible. This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference . Our Chief Data & Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAIO) division is building a world-class AI & Data team to make a difference in the lives of over 170 million people worldwide, through one of the largest banks in the world. We are undergoing one of the biggest transformations in our history and technology is at the heart of our strategy. Join our team to play a part in one of the most important technological projects for the financial sector in the world. Our mission is to contribute to helping more people and businesses prosper. We embrace a strong risk culture and all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management. Santander is proud of being an organization where there are equal opportunities regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion or sexual orientation. This job offer is an opportunity not only to join a great company but also to collaborate in projects that have a real impact on society. THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE About the Role At Santander, we are accelerating the transformation toward an AI-First organization by building next-generation conversational platforms capable of delivering intelligent, scalable, and human-centric interactions across millions of customer touchpoints. As part of this strategic evolution, we are seeking a AI Voice Agents Engineering Lead — a highly experienced technology leader who will drive the development and evolution of enterprise-grade AI voice agents and conversational ecosystems. In this role, you will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams focused on the delivery of advanced Voice AI solutions powered by Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Speech Technologies, and Multi-Agent capabilities. You will operate at the intersection of AI engineering, customer experience, and business transformation, shaping the future of conversational automation across global markets and business units. You will be responsible for leading engineering teams, driving technical excellence, fostering innovation, and ensuring the successful implementation of AI voice agents integrated with telephony, contact center, and enterprise platforms. Key Responsibilities AI Voice Agents Engineering Leadership
- Lead the end-to-end development lifecycle of enterprise AI voice agents, from ideation and experimentation to deployment and continuous improvement.
- Build, mentor, and manage high-performing teams of AI engineers, conversational designers, ML engineers, and technical leads.
- Define engineering best practices, development standards, and operational processes for conversational Voice AI solutions.
- Foster a strong engineering culture focused on collaboration, quality, innovation, and business impact Conversational AI & Voice Technologies
- Lead the implementation of conversational solutions leveraging LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and AI agent orchestration capabilities.
- Drive the integration of Speech-to-Text (STT), Text-to-Speech (TTS), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), and conversational flow management technologies.
- Collaborate with product and business teams to design intelligent and effective conversational experiences.
- Promote continuous improvement of conversational capabilities, including contextual understanding, personalization, and conversation quality. Contact Center & Voice Channel Integration
- Partner with Contact Center, Customer Experience, Operations, and Technology teams to evolve voice interactions through AI-driven automation.
- Coordinate integrations with telephony providers, IVR platforms, CRM systems, and omnichannel communication environments.
- Ensure AI voice agents operate effectively within enterprise operational processes, including escalation flows and human-in-the-loop interactions.
- Support operational teams in adopting conversational AI solutions and maximizing business value. Governance, Quality & Operational Excellence
- Establish monitoring, quality assurance, and operational control practices for conversational AI solutions.
- Define KPIs and operational metrics related to customer experience, conversation effectiveness, automation performance, and service quality.
- Promote MLOps / LLMOps practices for model lifecycle management, testing, prompt governance, and deployment processes.
- Ensure compliance with Responsible AI principles, security standards, data privacy requirements, and internal governance policies. Innovation & AI Strategy
- Contribute to the organization’s conversational AI and Voice AI strategy aligned with digital transformation objectives.
- Continuously assess emerging trends and technologies in Generative AI, Voice AI, and AI Agents.
- Promote experimentation and innovation initiatives to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Collaborate with architecture, innovation, and business teams to identify new opportunities for AI-driven transformation. WHAT YOU’LL BRING Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us stronger as a team and as an organization. We are looking for leaders who combine strong technical expertise with people leadership, business understanding, and a passion for delivering transformative AI solutions. Professional Experience
- 8–10 years of experience in software engineering, AI engineering, conversational platforms, or enterprise technology leadership roles. (Required).
- Proven experience leading engineering teams delivering Voice AI, Conversational AI, or Generative AI solutions in enterprise environments. (Required).
- Experience coordinating multidisciplinary initiatives involving AI, operations, business, and technology stakeholders. (Required).
- Experience working with conversational systems integrated into contact center and telephony environments. (Required).
- Experience operating in large-scale or regulated enterprise environments. (Preferred).
- Exposure to global and multi-country delivery environments. (Preferred). Hard Skills
- Strong understanding of Generative AI, LLM-based conversational systems, prompt engineering, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). (Required).
- Expertise in Speech-to-Text (STT), Text-to-Speech (TTS), speech technologies, conversational orchestration, and Voice AI capabilities. (Required).
- Experience with conversational AI platforms and frameworks such as Google Dialogflow, Amazon Lex, Azure AI, OpenAI APIs, LangChain, Semantic Kernel, or similar technologies. (Preferred).
- Knowledge of AI agent orchestration and conversational workflow management. (Required).
- Familiarity with cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. (Required).
- Experience with APIs, microservices, and enterprise integration patterns. (Required).
- Understanding of MLOps / LLMOps practices, model governance, testing processes, and AI operational monitoring. (Required).
- Knowledge of contact center ecosystems, IVR systems, and telephony integrations. (Required).
- Familiarity with Responsible AI, AI governance, and data privacy principles. (Required). Soft Skills
- Excellent leadership, communication, and influencing skills. (Required).
- Strategic mindset with strong execution orientation.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
- High adaptability and continuous learning mindset.
- Collaborative approach with strong relationship-building capabilities.
- Ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement mentality. Languages
- Fluent English. (Required). Education & Certifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Telecommunications, Software Engineering, or related technical disciplines. (Required).
- Postgraduate studies or specialization in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or Data Science. (Preferred).
- Cloud certifications in AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. (Preferred).
- Certifications related to AI Engineering, Conversational AI, MLOps, Kubernetes, or enterprise technology frameworks are highly valued. (Preferred). WE VALUE YOUR IMPACT Your contribution matters , and it’s recognized. You can expect a fair, competitive reward package that reflects the impact you create and the value you deliver. But we know rewards go beyond numbers.
- We’re enable our teams to go beyond through global opportunities and broad career paths.
- Flexibility that works. Enjoy a hybrid working models —some days remote, some days onsite with your team—along with flexible hours.
- Learning for life . Access hundreds of courses on our platforms, including exclusive access to our global learning space: Santander Open Academy ()
- Competitive rewards. Receive a highly competitive salary with performance-based bonuses, motivating you to keep growing with us.
- Financial advantages. Benefit from preferential banking terms, special interest rates on loans, life insurance, and more.
- Your health is our priority. Through BeHealthy, our general wellness programme, we promote Holistic wellbeing.
- We know family is everything . That’s why we offer childcare …