AI R&D & Effectiveness Lead

Smadex; Barcelona; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Top location in Barcelona

Hybrid work: 2 days WFH

Meal vouchers

Gym allowance

LinkedIn Learning & training

Team events & outings

Job summary

Smadex, a Barcelona-based AI-driven advertising platform, seeks an AI R&D & Effectiveness Lead who will evaluate what to build, justify it with ROI analyses, and ship production-ready solutions. This foundational R&D role sits at the crossroads of AI engineering, business analysis, and operational strategy.

You will own the decision framework for AI investments, design agents and integrations to production standards, and manage the AI capability matrix while driving cross-functional innovation.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of experience in AI engineering, solutions architecture, or a similar hands-on role.
• Production AI builds: agents, automations, API integrations shipped to production.
• Security and efficiency mindset: least privilege and observable outputs from the start.
• Strong analytical capability: construct ROI frameworks and communicate recommendations.
• Familiarity with business SaaS ecosystems like Salesforce, Slack, Notion.
• Bonus: MCP architecture, webhook design, or agentic workflows.
• Bonus: adtech, DSP, or programmatic experience.
• Portfolio of AI-powered production projects with clear rationale.

Responsibilities

• Own the ROI evaluation framework for AI initiatives before any code is written.
• Produce rigorous ROI analyses and track outcomes over time.
• Design production-grade AI agents, integrations, and workflows to standards.
• Maintain AI capability matrix and monitor model/tool lifecycles.
• Lead R&D, prototyping, and cross-functional innovation initiatives.

Skills

AI engineering

Solutions architecture

Product mindset

ROI analysis

Production AI

Stakeholder communication

Tools

AWS Bedrock

Webhook design

Job description

Smadex is a performance advertising engine for mobile apps, enabling the world's leading marketers to grow across Mobile and Connected TV (CTV). Powered by AI models trained on real campaign outcomes, Smadex delivers profitable growth at scale. Headquartered in Barcelona, with teams across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, Smadex is a business unit of Entravision (NYSE: EVC).

As Smadex scales its AI capabilities, we are building agents, automating workflows, and making increasingly complex decisions about where AI investment is genuinely worth making. To lead this, we are hiring our first AI R&D & Effectiveness Lead - a technically rigorous, commercially grounded practitioner who can evaluate what is worth building, make the business case for it, and build it to a production standard.

This is a foundational R&D role at the intersection of AI engineering, business analysis, and operational strategy. You will not just evaluate AI tools - you will run the decision framework that governs Smadex’s AI investment, and you will build the agents, integrations, and automated workflows that power it.

This is a full-time position based in Barcelona.

Key Responsibilities

Build vs Buy - ROI Decision Framework

• Own the evaluation process for every AI initiative: agent, query/report, engineering build, hybrid, or native platform add-on - applied consistently before anyone writes a line of code
• Produce rigorous ROI analyses for AI investment - quantified, tracked against actual outcomes, and iterated over time
• Maintain the build vs buy evaluation across core platforms (Salesforce, Slack, PowerBI, Notion, Hibob, Saleshood etc) - assessing native AI features versus custom builds for each use case
• Work alongside the SVP to stress-test recommendations before they are presented to business stakeholders

Production-Grade AI Development

• Design and build AI agents, webhook integrations, MCP connections, and agentic workflows to production standards
• Apply security-first and efficiency-first principles to every build: least privilege, observable outputs, sustainable maintenance overhead
• Produce clean, well-documented solutions that others can understand, maintain, and build on - not black-box prototypes
• Own the technical handover to the Enablement Lead for every build that goes into operational use

AI Capability Management

• Maintain the AI capability matrix: which models and tools are approved for which use cases, with documented rationale
• Continuously benchmark new capabilities against Smadex’s actual use cases - not generic industry benchmarks
• Track model and tool end-of-life proactively; recommend transitions before performance degrades
• Keep the team from quietly running on outdated or cost-inefficient models

R&D and Innovation

• Own the forward-looking R&D function: horizon scanning, prototyping, and translating emerging AI capabilities into Smadex-relevant proof of concepts
• Lead structured innovation initiatives - hackathons, rapid prototyping sprints - working cross-functionally to generate and validate ideas
• Brief the team and Enablement Lead on what is coming in the AI landscape that is relevant to Smadex’s commercial and operational context

What we are looking for

• 4–7 years of experience in AI engineering, solutions architecture, technical product, or a similar hands-on builder role
• Production AI build experience: agents, automations, API integrations, or agentic workflows shipped to a real production environment - not just prototypes
• Security and efficiency mindset: designs for least privilege, observable outputs, and maintainability from the start, not as an afterthought
• Strong analytical capability: able to construct an ROI framework, quantify trade-offs, and communicate a build recommendation clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Familiarity with the business SaaS ecosystem: Salesforce, Slack, Notion, or similar - and how AI layers onto commercial and operational workflows
• Bonus: Experience with MCP architecture, webhook design, or agentic workflow patterns
• Bonus: Background in adtech, DSP, or programmatic - domain fluency shortens the calibration period
• Bonus: Exposure to AWS Bedrock or equivalent managed AI services
• A portfolio of things you have actually shipped carries more weight than any certification. We are looking for someone who has moved from idea to production on something AI-powered and who can explain exactly why some builds break in the real world.

Why this role matters:

This is not an AI tools evaluation role.

It is the function that decides what Smadex’s AI is worth doing and makes sure it gets done properly. You will own the R&D capability for a fast-moving, commercially ambitious business unit - building the agents and workflows that compound over time, and making the investment decisions that ensure we are never building the wrong thing for the wrong reason.

If you are a rigorous thinker who can also ship - and who finds it energising to work at the boundary of analysis and construction - we’d love to meet you.

Please note that we do NOT provide VISA sponsorship. Candidates without a legal permit to work in Spain won't be considered.

What is in it for you:

• Integrate a highly motivated, young and dynamic team
• Great compensation package
• Top location at the heart of Barcelona with a rooftop terrace, Barbecue, and a fully stocked fridge
• Great work-life balance: work from home (2 days per week), flexible hours
• Meal vouchers - Ticket Restaurant monthly allowance
• Monthly gym allowance: Choose between DiR and Wellhub
• LinkedIn Learning and training opportunities
• Monthly TGIF events
• Regular team-building events
• Fun and friendly work environment with talented marketers and engineers from over 40 countries