Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Upstart is a leading AI lending marketplace dedicated to reducing the cost and complexity of borrowing for all Americans. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will define the technical direction for the Unsecured Installments product, collaborating with various teams to build reliable and scalable systems.
Responsibilities
- Design and evolve the core backend systems that power Upstart’s unsecured installment lending product
- Lead architecture and technical direction across complex domains such as underwriting, pricing, offer generation, funding, servicing, and borrower lifecycle workflows
- Translate product, economic, and operational requirements into scalable technical systems that balance speed, reliability, and long-term maintainability
- Partner closely with machine learning engineers and data teams to productionize models and integrate decisioning systems into real-time borrower experiences
- Improve the systems and services behind key borrower and partner flows, including experimentation, repricing, and moments of borrower friction
- Influence architectural decisions across team boundaries, helping connect the Unsecured Installments roadmap with Upstart’s broader lending platform and shared infrastructure
- Raise the bar for engineering quality through strong API design, thoughtful domain modeling, observability, testing, and operational excellence
- Mentor other engineers and serve as a technical leader who can bring clarity, drive alignment, and help teams execute through ambiguity
- Contribute to how the team uses AI in development workflows and product capabilities, with a pragmatic view of where it can create meaningful leverage
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) and 8+ years of software engineering experience
- Strong experience designing distributed systems and event-driven architectures, including real-world handling of retries, idempotency, fault tolerance, and failure modes
- Proficiency in an object-oriented language such as Python, Java, Kotlin, C#, or Ruby, with deep experience building APIs and service-oriented backend systems
- Track record of leading technical design and delivery for large-scope, business-critical systems
- Ability to work effectively in ambiguous environments where product requirements, operating constraints, and system boundaries evolve over time
- Strong cross-functional collaboration skills and comfort working closely with product, analytics, compliance, risk, and other business stakeholders
- Experience influencing technical direction beyond a single team, including driving alignment across engineers with different priorities and constraints
- Active use of AI tools in engineering workflows, with a thoughtful perspective on how AI is reshaping software development
- Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain complex tradeoffs and advocate for high-impact solutions
- Experience in fintech, lending, payments, or other regulated financial systems
- Familiarity with unsecured installment lending, offer and pricing systems, borrower acquisition flows, funding, or servicing platforms
- Experience building systems that support experimentation, repricing, or other dynamic product and decisioning workflows
- Background working with machine learning-driven underwriting, pricing, or risk systems
- Experience operating as a technical leader on small or midsized teams with broad product ownership
- Hands-on experience leveraging generative AI in product features or internal engineering workflows
- Passion for building products that expand access to credit and improve financial outcomes for consumers
Benefits
- Target bonuses
- Equity compensation
- Generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k)
- 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!)
- If you need to travel to make these meetups, Upstart will cover all travel related expenses.
Company Overview
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