About Upstart
At Upstart, we’re united by a mission that matters: to radically reduce the cost and complexity of borrowing for all Americans. Every day, we bring creativity, experimentation, and advanced AI to reshape access to credit, helping millions move forward financially with clarity and confidence.
As the leading AI lending marketplace, we partner with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit through technology that’s both radically intelligent and deeply human. Our platform runs over one million predictions per borrower using more than 1,800 signals, powering smarter, fairer decisions for millions of customers. But the numbers only hint at the impact. Every idea, every voice, and every contribution moves us closer to a world where credit never stands between people and their financial progress.
We’re proudly digital-first, giving most Upstarters the flexibility to do their best work from wherever they thrive, alongside teammates across 80+ cities in the US and Canada. Digital-first doesn’t mean distant. We’re intentional about in-person connection through team onsites, planning sessions, and moments that spark creativity and trust. And whether you choose to work primarily from home or collaborate in-person from one of our offices in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, or New York City (opening Summer 2026), you’ll have the support to work in the way that works best for you.
If you’re energized by tackling meaningful problems, excited to innovate with purpose, and motivated by work that truly matters, we’d love to hear from you.
The Team:
Upstart’s EPA & Quality team builds and operates the infrastructure, tooling, and developer platforms that support software development across the company. The team focuses on creating reliable, scalable, and easy-to-use solutions that help engineers build, test, and validate software efficiently while maintaining high standards for security, performance, and operational excellence.
As a Senior Software Engineer, DevOps at Upstart, you will help evolve our Ephemeral Infrastructure platform: the Kubernetes-based environments, cloud infrastructure, automation, and developer tooling that enable engineers to rapidly develop and validate software. You will own meaningful technical areas across platform engineering, infrastructure automation, and developer experience while helping improve reliability, scalability, and engineering productivity across Upstart.
How you’ll make an impact
- Design, build, and operate Kubernetes-based ephemeral environments that enable engineers to develop, test, and validate software efficiently.
- Improve the reliability, scalability, performance, and usability of the Ephemeral Infrastructure platform through automation and platform enhancements.
- Partner with product engineering, platform, security, and reliability teams to integrate infrastructure capabilities and improve developer workflows.
- Build infrastructure automation, tooling, and self-service capabilities that reduce operational toil and accelerate software delivery.
- Enhance observability, incident response, and operational practices to improve platform health and engineer productivity.
- Contribute to the long-term architecture and technical direction of Upstart’s developer platform and cloud infrastructure ecosystem.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) and 4+ years of software engineering experience.
- 4+ years of experience designing, deploying, and operating production Kubernetes environments.
- Experience building and operating cloud infrastructure on AWS, including services such as EKS, EC2, IAM, and networking components.
- Experience with Kubernetes operators, controllers, and cloud-native platform architecture.
- Experience developing software and automation using Go or a comparable programming language.
- Experience implementing infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and automated operational workflows in production environments
Preferred Qualifications
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator/Architect (CKA/CKAD) or equivalent certification.
- Experience with Terraform, Helm, GitOps practices, and tools such as ArgoCD.
- Experience operating distributed systems with a focus on observability, reliability, and incident response.
- Ability to influence platform adoption and collaborate effectively across multiple engineering teams.
- Experience building internal developer platforms, ephemeral environment solutions, or developer productivity tooling
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote
Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.
Travel requirements As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live and work anywhere in the U.S but are encouraged to to still spend high quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites. The in-person sessions’ cadence varies depending on the team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days at a time.
#LI-REMOTE
#LI-MidSenior
At Upstart, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the below range. Your actual base pay will depend on your geographic location–with our “digital first” philosophy, Upstart uses compensation regions that vary depending on location. Individual pay is also determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
In addition, Upstart provides employees with target bonuses, equity compensation, and generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k).
At Upstart, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the below range. Your actual base pay will depend on your geographic location–with our “digital first” philosophy, Upstart uses compensation regions that vary depending on location. Individual pay is also determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.
In addition, Upstart provides employees with target bonuses, equity compensation, and generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k).
What you'll love
At Upstart, our benefits are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:
- Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
- Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually (USD in the US, CAD in Canada)
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only)
- Comprehensive health coverage designed to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
- Income protection benefits, including life insurance and disability coverage for added financial security
- Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements
- Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments (duration varies by country)
- Family-centered benefits to support fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering mental health support and life-centered resources
- Financial wellness resources, including access to financial planning tools and a financial concierge service (US Only)
- Annual wellness allowance to support your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
- Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, no matter where you work from
- Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!)
For roles based in Canada, please note that we are not currently able to hire in Quebec.
Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Just as we are dedicated to improving access to affordable credit for all, we are committed to inclusive and fair hiring practices.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please email [email protected]
https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field (or equivalent practical experience) and 4+ years of software engineering experience.
- 4+ years of experience designing, deploying, and operating production Kubernetes environments.
- Experience building and operating cloud infrastructure on AWS, including services such as EKS, EC2, IAM, and networking components.
- Experience with Kubernetes operators, controllers, and cloud-native platform architecture.
- Experience developing software and automation using Go or a comparable programming language.
- Experience implementing infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and automated operational workflows in production environments.
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator/Architect (CKA/CKAD) or equivalent certification.
- Experience with Terraform, Helm, GitOps practices, and tools such as ArgoCD.
- Experience operating distributed systems with a focus on observability, reliability, and incident response.
- Ability to influence platform adoption and collaborate across multiple engineering teams.
- Experience building internal developer platforms, ephemeral environment solutions, or developer productivity tooling.
What the Team is Saying
What We Do
Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace, connecting millions of consumers to more than 100 banks and credit unions that leverage Upstart’s AI models and cloud applications to deliver superior credit products. With Upstart's AI, lenders can approve more borrowers at lower rates across races, ages, and genders, while delivering the exceptional digital-first experience customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload. Founded in 2012, Upstart’s platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small-dollar “relief” loans. If you are energized by the impact you think you could make at Upstart, we'd love to hear from you!
Why Work With Us
Connection to our mission creates a special environment where people feel passionately about the impact they make in the world. Upstart is fast-paced, and we encourage ownership at all levels of the organization. As a result, culture at Upstart is driven by Upstarters. Upstarters are proactive, talented, multi-dimensional and collaborative.
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Upstart Offices
Remote Workspace
Employees work remotely.
Upstart has a digital-first model enabling most Upstarters can live and work anywhere in the U.S. We also offer in-person options from our office locations in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and New York City, NY.
