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
The Core Pricing team is at the heart of Upstart’s financial infrastructure. Nearly every borrower experience, product workflow, and partner integration relies on the systems this team builds and maintains. Core Pricing owns critical backend services that price loans across products and partners, integrate with underwriting models and downstream platforms, and operate under strict requirements for latency, correctness, and reliability. These services sit directly on the revenue path and function within a regulated environment, serving both internal and external stakeholders. The team supports a mix of legacy infrastructure and greenfield development as we continue evolving our pricing architecture.
How You’ll Make an Impact- Lead, coach, and grow a team of backend engineers and an engineering manager, fostering a culture of accountability and ownership.
- Own team execution and delivery across multiple quarters, ensuring Core Pricing systems meet high standards for uptime, accuracy, and responsiveness.
- Guide technical strategy across legacy and next-generation pricing systems, balancing short-term execution with long-term architectural goals.
- Ensure changes to pricing systems are production-safe, observable, and rigorously validated, maintaining SLAs and leading incident response when needed.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Risk, Servicing, Analytics, and external partners to deliver complex, multi-team initiatives.
- Use key metrics—including reliability, latency, and partner escalations—to align engineering priorities with borrower impact and business objectives.
- 10–15 years of software engineering experience, including 4–7 years managing high-performing engineering teams.
- Demonstrated ownership of systems with strict reliability, latency, and correctness constraints.
- Domain experience in pricing, fintech, lending, payments, marketplaces, or real-time decisioning systems.
- Strong system design and architectural skills, with the ability to dive deep into technical issues as needed.
- Deep experience leading backend and distributed systems in production environments.
- Proven success leading cross-functional, multi-quarter initiatives in complex, fast-paced environments.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to effectively collaborate with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong product intuition and business judgment, with the ability to assess tradeoffs, risk, and long-term impact.
- Familiarity with operating in regulated environments and working with external partners.
- Experience specifically in fintech or finance, working with pricing, risk, or other Machine Learning adjacent teams where correctness and regulatory compliance is critical.
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote, USA
Time zone requirements The team operates on the East and 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-Director
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
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