VP of Engineering

Rotterdam Innovation City; Leiden; On-site; EUR 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Whispp is hiring a VP of Engineering in Leiden, Netherlands, to drive their audio AI technology into SDKs for devices. You will lead a multidisciplinary team and ensure successful delivery of the Whisper-to-Speech SDK.

The ideal candidate has over 10 years in software/AI engineering, with solid leadership experience in deep-tech environments. If you're excited about creating impactful technology, apply with your CV and a brief note on your previous SDK/platform work.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software/AI engineering, with 5+ years in leadership roles.
• Proven track record shipping SDKs to OEMs or B2B partners.
• Hands-on background in speech/audio ML or DSP.

Responsibilities

• Own delivery of the Whisper-to-Speech SDK to GA.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary engineering organization.
• Support conversion of flagship PoCs into NRE and license agreements.

Skills

Software/AI engineering

Leadership in deep-tech

SDK development

Speech/audio ML

Real-time communications

Job description

About the job

Whispp is hiring a VP of Engineering to take our real‑time, on‑device voice AI from award‑winning prototypes into SDKs that ship on millions of devices. Whispp’s proprietary audio‑to‑audio AI converts whispered, affected, and noisy speech into a person’s clear, natural voice, in real time and on‑device (CPU/NPU). We uniquely handle voiceless speech where classic voice conversion and DSP fail. We license our technology to OEMs and platforms across three domains:- Accessibility – assistive speech tech, AAC devices- Privacy – silent & discreet calls on smartphones and PCs- Protection – heavy‑duty hearing protection and ultra‑low bitrate codec for harsh environmentsWe’ve been recognised by CES Innovation Awards, TIME Best Inventions, and Forbes Accessibility 100 and are running several PoCs with name brand industry partners.

The opportunity

We are now scaling from research and PoCs into product‑driven, SDK‑first implementations of our technology to drive, build and grow a technology licensing business. As VP of Engineering, you will:

• Own delivery of our Whisper‑to‑Speech (W2S) SDK (Android first, then PC/other platforms) to GA, including licensing server and integration tooling.
• Build and lead a multidisciplinary engineering organisation (ML/speech, DSP/audio, SDK/platform, infra/DevOps, QA, and Testing).
• Support conversion of flagship PoCs into NRE and license agreements by making Whispp a reliable, OEM‑grade technology partner.

What you’ll do

• Translate our 2026–2029 roadmap (latency improvements, SDK and codec versions, IP creation) into executable engineering plans and milestones.
• Work closely with the CAIO to take models from research to production: mobile CPU/NPU implementations, noise robustness, multi‑lingual support, personalization, and bone‑conduction input.
• Ship OEM‑ready SDKs and codecs: performance‑optimised, secure, well‑documented, with strong integration UX for device and platform partners.
• Build and scale the engineering team and practices: hiring, org design, CI/CD, testing, performance benchmarking, cost‑efficient AI infrastructure (OVH → GCP/Azure).
• Partner with Sales/BD on PoCs and NREs (PC and smartphone OEMs, AAC vendors) including scoping, estimates, and technical commitments.
• Contribute to Whispp’s IP strategy and help us reach our goal of 3–5 core patents in the near term.

What we are looking for

• Must have
• 10+ years in software/AI engineering, 5+ years in leadership (Head/Director/VP) in deep‑tech, ML/AI, audio/speech, or real‑time media.
• Proven track record shipping SDKs, developer platforms, or embedded software to OEMs or B2B partners (mobile, PC, chipset, or similar).
• Hands‑on background in at least one of: speech/audio ML, DSP, real‑time communications, or on‑device/edge AI.
• Experience working with or around OEM/chipset/platform ecosystems (e.g., Android or PC OEMs, Qualcomm/MediaTek/ARM, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale high‑performing engineering teams in a startup or high‑growth environment.

• Nice‑to‑have
• Experience in assistive tech, accessibility, telco, or similar regulated environments.
• Familiarity with low‑bitrate codecs, secure communications, or connectivity‑constrained environments (automotive, industrial, satellite).
• Exposure to IP/patent creation and privacy/AI regulation constraints.

Who you are

• Mission‑driven and excited about giving people their voices back and creating a new privacy/protection layer for spoken communication.
• Comfortable operating from architecture to execution: from high‑level strategy to unblocking SDK integration issues.
• Pragmatic, collaborative, and low‑ego, with a strong quality bar and a bias for shipping.

Location

Hybrid in the Netherlands near our headquarters in Leiden.

If this sounds like you, please send your CV and motivation to [e-mail], including a brief note on a shipped SDK/platform you’re proud of, and the team you built around it.