About
Rafael Santos is a founding engineer at Dirt AI with 25+ years of experience in startup scaling, product leadership, and AI systems engineering. He has founded four startups and led product and technology functions at two scale-ups, developing digital solutions across IoT, real estate, automotive, and SaaS platforms. Santos currently teaches generative AI and data leadership at MIT, serves as a technology advisor to startups, and has hands-on expertise in AI agents, distributed systems, and platform architecture.
Experience
- Dirt AIFounding Engineercurrent2025 — present
- InfinitePathsIOStartups Board & Tech Advisorcurrent2023 — present
- InfinitePathsIOAI Literacy & Tech Leadership Educator (MIT, IFTL)current2023 — present
- MIT Professional EducationEducator for Online Programs (Generative AI & AI Agents, Data Leadership, others)current2022 — present
- FCJ Venture BuilderInvestor & former Operations Advisorcurrent2023 — present
- Lumenalta (formerly Clevertech)Hands-on Engineering Manager2022 — 2025
- MC1 - Win The MarketChief Product Officer (CPO) - Leading Product, Design and Engineering teams2021 — 2022
- CreditasProduct Lead | Lead PM - Creditas Auto2021Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- CreditasLeading Product for Creditas Home (Real Estate) an Creditas Auto (Used Car Market)2019 — 2021São Paulo Area, Brazil
- CreditasSenior Product Manager - PIX (Central Bank's Instant Payment Method)2020 — 2021Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- CreditasSenior Product Manager - New Products2019São Paulo Area, Brazil
- Decision6CPO/CTO & Founder - In-Store Customer Behavior Analytics SaaS Platform2014 — 2019Rio de Janeiro Area, Brazil
- MetaCerta.comCEO/CTO & Founder - SaaS Finance Management for SMB2013 — 2015Rio de Janeiro Area, Brazil
- SpectaCEO/CTO & Founder - Outsourcing high-performance product teams2008 — 2015Rio de Janeiro / RJ / Brazil
- NullPointer LabsEngineering Manager2007 — 2008
- Modulo Security SolutionsLead QA Engineer2006 — 2007
- Instituto Gênesis PUC-RioVolunteer2005
- ThinkFreakFounder - First VoIP network provider in Brazil2003 — 2004Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- AlcatelInternship2002 — 2003
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de JaneiroInternship @ Cetuc2001 — 2002
Skills & more
Strategic ThinkingStrategy4Problem Solving1Design ThinkingWritingLeadership11AI AgentsGenerative AIRetrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)1Generative AI ToolsPlaybookTechnical Leadership
+12 more
Technical AdvisoryEarly-stage StartupsStartup DevelopmentBusiness StrategyAdvisory BoardsSystems DesignEmerging TechnologiesTechnology ResearchTeachingSoftware EngineeringProduct ManagementProduct DevelopmentLanguages English · Portuguese
- Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation — MIT Professional Education
- Lean Startup Program | Startup Accelerator - Startup MetaCerta — Startup Farm
- ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers — DeepLearning.AI
- LEAN GOVERNANCE — Board Academy Br
- Lean Startup Program | Startup Accelerator - Startup mylogin — Startup Farm
- TOEFL - Test of English as Foreign Language — EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE GLOBAL B V
- Proficiency (C2) — BSC London Hampstead (Former Hampstead School of English)
- BEC - Business English Certificate Vantage - Council of Europe Level B2 — University of Cambridge
- Product Manager — PM3
- Ciclo Diploma — Cultura Inglesa
From Rafael's professional profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Rafael Santos?
- Rafael Santos is a founding engineer at Dirt AI with 25+ years of experience in startup scaling, product leadership, and AI systems engineering. He has founded four startups and led product and technology functions at two scale-ups, developing digital solutions across IoT, real estate, automotive, and SaaS platforms. Santos currently teaches generative AI and data leadership at MIT, serves as a technology advisor to startups, and has hands-on expertise in AI agents, distributed systems, and platform architecture.
- Where does Rafael Santos work?
- Rafael Santos is Advisor at FCJ Venture Builder.
- Where did Rafael Santos go to school?
- Rafael Santos studied at MIT Professional Education (Acting as a Learning Facilitator (no degree), Generative AI); FGV - Fundação Getulio Vargas (MBA, Business Management / Gestão Empresarial); Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (Engineer’s Degree, Computer Engineering).
Same school
Also attended MIT Professional Education28
Kanira ShahVenture Partner, Future Content Fund at IPR.VCElena Harumi StarkVP of Platform and Impact at AENUThomas DunleavyHead of Venture at Varys CapitalCris De LucaPartner, Digital at Sanofi VenturesHugues BertinPartner at HCS CapitalLinda GreubManaging Partner at Avestria Ventures
+ 22 more
Also attended FGV - Fundação Getulio Vargas188
Cristian PintoInvestor at DaphniJulien DillonInvestment Director - Finance at Emerald Technology Ventures AgGustavo RibasInvestor at KfundJean-Marc EtlinInvestor at Norte VenturesBruno DalapriaPartner at NXTPLorena DeolinoInvestment Associate at NXTP
+ 182 more
Also attended Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro68
Gabriel FarmeInvestor at Graphene VenturesAbdul LyInvestor at Initialized CapitalAlexandre FlamantPartner at HCVCCarlos Alonso TorrasPartner at FinTech CollectiveFelipe MendesDirector of Finance Brazil at Valor Capital GroupDavid Pérez-HernándezPartner at Roble Ventures
+ 62 more
Also attended Colégio Santa Cruz17
Gabriel Rosenthal GilInvestment Associate at Valor Capital GroupFelipe SallesGeneral Partner at Parceiro VenturesLucas OrfalySenior Analyst at Parceiro VenturesAlice LepiqueVice President at Onevc Venture Partners LlcSilvia KerrAssociate at Bewater VenturesAndrea KestenbaumManaging Partner and CEO at Positive Ventures
+ 11 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Alcatel179
Nick FrosstCo-founder of CohereViswa SankaranarayananVenture Partner at Monta Vista CapitalAdamAdvisor at Clear VenturesSamir MatkiInvestor at DaphniTony NystenPartner at OpenOceanTimo AhopeltoSerial tech entrepreneur and early-stage investor running Lifeline Ventures
+ 173 more
