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.
Cash Line is Upstart’s new always on revolving credit product designed to expand access to responsible, fairly priced credit. Instead of a traditional rewards driven credit card model, Cash Line rethinks how credit is structured and priced, using AI driven underwriting to better separate risk and reduce the need for cross subsidized rewards.
We are a small, senior engineering team operating like a startup inside Upstart. The team owns the product end to end, from consumer facing experiences in the mobile app to the backend systems that power underwriting, pricing, servicing, and capital markets integrations.
This is a high ownership environment. The codebase is new. The architecture is still being shaped. You will work closely with product, growth, finance, compliance, and capital markets partners to build a category defining credit experience.
We are building with generative AI as a core capability from day one, both in the customer experience and in how we build and operate the product internally.
How you’ll make an impact:Design and deliver production grade backend systems that power a new consumer revolving credit product.
Own services that support underwriting, pricing, line management, transactions, ledgering, and servicing with strong guarantees around correctness, reliability, and observability.
Break down ambiguous product and economic requirements into clear technical designs and milestones, driving projects independently from design through launch and iteration.
Partner with machine learning engineers to productionize models and integrate AI driven decisioning into real time user flows with strict latency and reliability constraints.
Collaborate closely with mobile engineers to ensure backend systems support seamless, high quality consumer experiences.
Contribute to architectural decisions in a greenfield environment while integrating thoughtfully with Upstart’s broader lending platform.
Apply generative AI in practical ways, shaping customer facing AI features as well as internal tooling, automation, testing, and developer productivity workflows.
Raise the bar for engineering rigor through strong API contracts, data modeling, testing strategy, monitoring, and operational excellence.
What we’re looking for:
Minimum requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) + 4 years of experience
Strong experience designing distributed systems and event driven architectures, including handling real world concerns such as idempotency, retries, race conditions, data consistency, and failure recovery.
Proficiency in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java, Kotlin, C#, or Ruby, and experience designing APIs and working with relational databases and caching layers.
Experience shipping consumer facing features end to end, with a clear understanding of performance, reliability, and user impact.
Fluency with generative AI systems in production, including hands on experience building, integrating, or operating Gen AI powered features or workflows. Comfortable working with LLM APIs, prompt design, evaluation, guardrails, and monitoring in real world systems.
Demonstrated ability to operate autonomously, lead medium to large scoped projects, and make sound technical tradeoffs in ambiguous environments.
Strong communication skills and comfort collaborating closely with cross functional partners across product, finance, compliance, and operations.
Preferred qualifications:
Experience in fintech, credit, payments, or other regulated financial systems.
Familiarity with revolving credit products, transaction processing systems, or ledger based architectures.
Experience building systems that bridge consumer applications and capital markets or funding infrastructure.
Experience building systems that bridge consumer applications and capital markets or funding infrastructure.
Entrepreneurial mindset—comfortable in dynamic environments, with a bias toward action and ownership.
Strong product instincts and interest in understanding the economics behind pricing, risk, and unit economics.
Hands on experience applying generative AI to customer facing features, internal tools, or engineering workflows.
Entrepreneurial mindset with a bias toward ownership, speed, and practical impact.
Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote, San Mateo, Columbus, Austin
Time Zone Requirements - This team operates across all U.S. time zones.
Travel Requirements - This team has regular on-site collaboration sessions. These occur 3 days per quarter at an Upstart office. If you need to travel to make these meetups, Upstart will cover all travel related expenses.
#LI-REMOTE
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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
- Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees
- Affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, with multiple plan options - Upstart covers 90% to 100% of the cost depending on the plans you choose
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans
- Income protection benefits, including company-paid Basic Life, AD&D, and Short- and Long-Term Disability coverage, with options to purchase supplemental coverage
- Paid time off, sick and safe time, and company holidays
- Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments
- Family-centered benefits through Carrot and Cleo, supporting fertility, parenthood, and caregiving
- 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
- 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 and onsites, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our four offices, located in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!).
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
Top Skills
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.
