Daniel Fernández Castro
My Music and Articles
Stuff I listen to, stuff I've written
The AI Job Wars: Episode I
Medium Article
Co-written with Álvaro Sanmartín Cid and published in the online magazine BecomingHuman.ai (150k followers), in this article we go over the potential revolution that machine learning and applied robotics can create in the labor market.
With a bit of humor, obviously.
Penn Behavioral Health - Client Project
How might we help patients work on their mental wellness while waiting for their first therapy session?
Team project with other Integrated Product Design students at the University of Pennsylvania, aimed at improving the well-being of to-be therapy patients during their wait for their first session.
Career
This is what I've been up to for the last few years
Sr. Product Manager (Voice User Experience)
Microsoft GmbH
May 2021 - Jun 2022 (Paris, France)
Designed and coordinated the implementation of 50+ user flows/features for a voice interface focused on music and device management use cases (Sonos Voice Control), working closely with engineering, linguistics, beta and QA teams for ideation, development and launch.
Sr. Voice Experience Designer (Prototyping Labs)
Sonos, Inc.
Nov 2019 - Present (Paris, France)
Worked in a small team that looked into the future of voice interfaces. Validated user experience hypotheses by prototyping products and features to then help determine the long-term technical roadmap for machine learning and embedded software teams around voice interfaces.
Sr. Client Solutions Manager (AI Voice Interfaces)
Snips.ai
Apr 2018 - Nov 2019 (Paris, France)
Designing and implementing end-to-end Voice User Interfaces (incl. prioritising features and creating user flows specific to products with speech recognition, training Natural Language Understanding machine learning models, implementing with tech teams) for a variety of use cases and clients, ranging from entertainment to smart home, retail and industry, among others.
Influencing Automatic Speech Recognition and Natural Language Understanding roadmaps based on client requests and developing turnkey standard solutions, working with clients and tech teams for delivering complete voice user interfaces.
Lead for projects involving music use cases.
Program Manager (Alexa Experience and Devices)
Amazon UK (Alexa)
Apr 2016 - Mar 2018 (London, UK)
Led the internal beta testing phase for all Alexa devices and features to be launched in the UK. Goals of beta include maximizing data collection for ASR/NLU improvements, detecting user experience issues and locally relevant features, and increase overall satisfaction with devices/features as an input for go/no-go decisions for product launches.
Additionally:
- Working Backwards Coach (20 employees in Amazon UK). Role involves training fellow Amazon employees in the customer-centric Working Backwards methodology for developing new products and processes, and helping employees launch them by reviewing their to-be products before work on them starts.
- Alexa Experience Bar Raiser - ambassador of this program in Amazon UK. Role equivalent to the
Working Backwards Coach role above, but specific for Alexa devices and experiences.
Site Merchandiser / Associate Vendor Mgr Movies&TV, Music and MP3
Amazon Spain
May 2014 - Apr 2016 (Madrid, Spain)
Local owner of customer experience for the Movies & TV, Physical and Digital Music on Amazon.es, leading projects around website, email, promotions, product launches, etc.
Additionally:
- E-mail marketing bar raiser (only two in Amazon Spain)
- Homepage content bar raiser (only three in Amazon Spain)
- Part of Mobile Champions group (focus on mobile shopping experience)
Amazon Spain
July 2012 - May 2014 (Madrid, Spain)
Local owner of customer experience for the Movies & TV on Amazon.es, leading projects around website, email, promotions, product launches, etc.
Additionally:
- Co-founder of Mobile Champions group (focus on mobile shopping experience)
Microsoft GmbH
May 2011 - Oct 2011 (Munich, Germany)
Customer acquisition (cold calling). Account management. Data Analysis.
EducAtion
And this is what I've studied
Master of Integrated Product Design
University of Pennsylvania
July 2022 - May 2024 (Philadelphia, USA)
(Wharton Business School | Penn Engineering | Weitzman School of Design)
Expected graduation: May 2024. GPA: 3.8/4 (as of end of Fall 2022 semester). Fully sponsored by La Caixa Foundation.
Product Management
General Assembly
July 2017 - October 2017 (London, UK)
10-week part-time Product Management course.
European Degree in Business Management
Universitat de València
Sep 2007 - Jul 2012 (Valencia, Spain)
Double Degree between Universitat de València (Spain) and Hochschule Bremen (Germany), with a total of two years abroad and two semesters of internships.
- Honors in Statistics
- Honors in Business English
- Honors in Macroeconomics
International Management B.A.
Hochschule Bremen
Sep 2009 - Nov 2011 (Bremen, Germany)
Double Degree between Universitat de València (Spain) and Hochschule Bremen (Germany), with a total of two years abroad and two semesters of internships.
Top 5% student in International Commerce Law and Entrepreneurship/Management
Copyright Daniel Fernández Castro (2023)