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 Auto Refi + Auto Secured Personal Loans team is responsible for scaling our auto refinance and auto secured personal loan products. Our highly collaborative team is focused on increasing conversion by eliminating friction for our customers while continuously improving the quality of our product. We work iteratively to provide fast feedback loops so that we can apply new learnings quickly.
As a Senior Software Engineer on the team, you will work closely with cross-functional partners to execute projects across the whole stack. You’re a self-starter who delivers work with quality, testability, resiliency, and maintainability in mind. You may currently specialize on the backend or frontend, but you're looking to get your hands into both areas of the stack. You're eager to learn and grow as an individual and a leader and enjoy helping your team do the same.
How you’ll make an impact
- Lead successful projects working collaboratively with engineering team members and cross-functional partners.
- Make thoughtful architectural decisions to improve the quality of our software
- Propose and deliver new ideas that achieve meaningful improvements to our team’s metrics
- Collaborate with stakeholders to find solutions to our most challenging problems
Minimum Qualifications
- 7+ years of professional full stack software development experience. We primarily use Kotlin (Spring), Ruby (Rails), and TypeScript (React) but are open to experience with different stacks.
- 4+ years of professional experience with SQL databases and domain modeling
- Some experience with a front-end framework like React
Preferred Qualifications
- Excellent written and verbal communication. As an engineer, a big part of your job will be representing your projects in cross-functional conversations, and you’ll need to tailor your communication style to fit these different audiences’ needs.
- Ability to execute independently and deliver projects of varying complexity and sizes with minimal direction.
- Comfortable challenging authority. We want engineers who can push back on their managers when they think we’re going down the wrong path. Related: you thrive in environments where you are expected to think like an owner and make decisions like one.
- Preference for face-time and synchronous collaboration. We’re a distributed team of remote workers (from coast to coast), and while we predominantly build asynchronously, we prefer facetime when collaborating in a tight feedback loop. You’ll need to be comfortable with a few hours of Zoom per day (e.g. pair/mob programming) to excel in this role.
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote
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).
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
