Gen AI Engineer

Santander; Madrid; Hybrid; EUR 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Competitive salary

BeHealthy wellness program

Childcare support

Santander Contigo

Meal subsidy

Shuttle service Madrid

Job summary

Santander in Madrid is seeking a Generative AI Engineer specializing in Python to design, integrate, and optimize agentic systems with a focus on reliable operation, knowledge grounding, and security.

The role requires 5+ years of backend development, 2+ years in AI engineering, and hands-on experience with distributed systems, LLMs, APIs, and RAG pipelines. It offers a hybrid work model, competitive rewards, and access to Santander Open Academy.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of backend development experience.
• 2+ years of AI engineering experience.
• Experience building production-grade distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with LLM applications.
• Spanish proficiency; English preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, integrate, and optimize agentic systems.
• Integrate LLMs with APIs, microservices, vector databases.
• Build and optimize RAG pipelines ground agent responses.
• Define metrics, implement tracing and monitoring.
• Implement security filters and access controls.
• Build MCP-based tools to extend capabilities.

Skills

Python programming

Distributed systems

APIs & microservices

Security & data protection

CI/CD & observability

RAG pipelines

Education

BSc or MSc in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field

Tools

React

TypeScript

JavaScript

HTML & CSS

MCP/A2A

Job description

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.santander.com) is evolving from

Country:

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.santander.com) 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 mission is to contribute to help 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.
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.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

Join the Agentic Solutions

team within CDAIO / AI TECH as a Generative AI Engineer specializing in Python, Madrid-based .

In this role, you will design, integrate, and optimize agentic systems, with a focus on reliable operation, relevant knowledge retrieval, and security. Key responsabilities:

• Agentic architecture: Design reasoning and planning loops, short- and long-term memory, and context management for individual agents and collaborative multi-agent systems.
• Orchestration and integration: Integrate large language models (LLMs) with APIs, microservices, and vector databases, and orchestrate agentic systems using MCP and A2A.
• Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): Build and optimize advanced RAG pipelines that ground agent responses in relevant knowledge.
• Evaluation and observability: Define metrics to evaluate agent behavior and implement tracing, debugging, and production monitoring.
• Security and guardrails: Implement security filters, access controls, data leakage prevention, and prompt injection mitigation.
• Agent tooling: Build MCP-based tools that extend the capabilities of agentic systems.

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’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are and empowering what they bring.

The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Professional Experience

• 5+ years of experience in backend development.(Required)
• 2+ years of experience in AI engineering.(Required)
• Experience building and operating production-grade distributed systems, APIs, or cloud applications. (Required)
• Hands-on experience with LLM applications. (Required)
• Experience optimizing production applications. (Preferred)

Education

• BSc or MSc in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field. (Required)

Languages

• Spanish proficiency. (Required)
• High level of English . (Preferred)

Hard Skills

• Strong knowledge of software architecture, engineering best practices, and design patterns. (Required)
• Strong knowledge of APIs, microservices, distributed systems, security, testing, CI/CD, and observability. (Required)
• Strong Python programming skills.(Required)
• Knowledge of RAG pipelines, embeddings, vector search, reranking, response grounding, and evaluation (Preferred)
• Experience with React, TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. (Preferred)
• Knowledge of agent integration and interaction protocols, including MCP, A2A, AG-UI, and A2UI. (Preferred)

Soft Skills

• Strong problem-solving skills, a deep sense of ownership, and a proactive attitude.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to lead technical discussions and collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

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 (www.santanderopenacademy.com)
• 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 global wellness programme, we promote Holistic wellbeing.
• We know family is everything. That’s why we offer childcare support and family-friendly programmes tailored to each life stage.
• Always by your side. Get access to Santander Contigo, our program for employees and their families offering legal, emotional, and administrative advisory services.
• Extra benefits. Gym/WellHub membership, medical centers in some of our facilities, meal subsidy, parking, shuttle service from various points in Madrid, as well as exclusive discounts and offers for Santander employees. And that’s only the beginning-... We’ll tell you more when you join!

We’re here to keep you motivated, help you reach your goals, and celebrate your progress, every step of the way.

We make recruiting decisions based on your experience and skills. We value your passion to discover, invent, simplify, and build.

The personal data you provide as well as any data generated during the selection process are confidential and will be processed by Open Digital Services, S.L. with registered office at Plaza de Santa Bárbara 2, 28004 (Madrid), Madrid, Spain for the