# Mario Santanilla

> Design Engineer | C#, JavaScript, React, Next.js | Building AI Tools @ Exante

Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/mariosantanilla

I’m a design engineer focused on building AI-native tools and systems. I’m currently at Exante, a fintech startup, where I work across design and engineering to ship new AI-driven workflows

Before Exante, I led design at Easel AI and helped take the product from 0→1. I’ve also worked on automotive UX at BMW and Volvo (Patent my work), explored future interaction models with Google, and ran my own multidisciplinary studio.

What ties everything together for me is building things from scratch, figuring out how something should work, trying it, breaking it, fixing it, and refining it until it feels right for the user and the business case.

## Work Experience
### Design Engineer @ Exante
Jan 2025 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area

### Independent Practice @ Mario Santanilla Studio
Jan 2022 – Present
Design consulting for: mdhub (YC23), Toperty, Public Assembly, IDB (Inter American Development Bank).

### Lead Product Designer @ Easel AI, Inc.
Jan 2024 – Jan 2025

### Creative Technologist, Sponsored Project @ Google
Jan 2023 – Jan 2023
Future vision for Google hardware interaction

### Summer Product Designer @ Volvo Group
Jan 2023 – Jan 2023 | Mountain View, California, United States

### Design Engineer @ BMW Group
Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Munich, Bavaria, Germany

### Immersion Lab (XR) Researcher @ ArtCenter College of Design
Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Pasadena, California, United States

### Interaction Design Teacher Assistant @ ArtCenter College of Design
Jan 2022 – Jan 2022 | Pasadena, California, United States

### Multidisciplinary Creative @ Personal Studio
Jan 2015 – Jan 2021


## Education
### Master of Fine Arts - MFA in Media Design Practices (STEM)
ArtCenter College of Design

### Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA in Studio Arts
Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano

### Bachelor of Fine Arts - BFA (Exchange Program) in Fine and Studio Arts
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mariosantanilla
- Website: https://www.mariosantanilla.com/

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Source: https://flows.cv/mariosantanilla
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/mariosantanilla/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-04-08