Senior Software Engineer, Auto at Upstart

Job description

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 3,000 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, 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 Direct team is expanding access to secured lending products that help more borrowers move forward financially. The team builds customer-facing experiences, eligibility systems, operational workflows, and partner-channel capabilities that support growth across Upstart’s auto-secured lending programs. As a Senior Software Engineer at Upstart, you will help deliver core product and platform capabilities that scale the Auto Secured Personal Loan product. You will work across engineering, product, operations, and risk to increase conversion, automate manual workflows, expand eligibility, and bring new secured lending capabilities to market. How you’ll make an impact Build and improve product features that expand access to Upstart’s Auto Secured Personal Loan product and support growth in originations. Design and deliver customer-facing funnel improvements, eligibility logic, and workflow automation that improve borrower experience and operational efficiency. Partner with product, operations, risk, and engineering teams to evaluate tradeoffs across customer experience, risk, complexity, and speed to market. Develop durable, scalable engineering solutions that create leverage for future secured lending product expansion. Contribute to the team’s technical direction by identifying implementation risks, improving execution standards, and communicating progress and decisions clearly. Support high-quality delivery in a regulated environment through thoughtful system design, testing, observability, and cross-functional alignment. 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. Experience designing, building, testing, and deploying production software systems. Experience developing customer-facing product features, platform capabilities, or backend services in a production environment. Experience working with cross-functional partners such as product management, design, analytics, operations, legal, or compliance. Experience making technical tradeoffs across system reliability, maintainability, scalability, and product delivery timelines. Preferred Qualifications Knowledge of consumer lending, fintech, marketplace, or regulated product environments. Experience building or improving conversion funnels, eligibility systems, decisioning workflows, or operational automation. Ability to work through ambiguous product and technical problems by using data, judgment, and clear communication. Skills in influencing technical direction and aligning stakeholders without direct authority. Experience developing systems that balance customer experience, compliance needs, risk controls, and long-term engineering quality. Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote US and Canada 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 --> use for L5, L6 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). United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range $166,900 — $230,900 USD 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). Canada | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range $153,000 — $190,000 USD What you'll love At Upstart, our benefits for full-time employees 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 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 candidate_accommodations@upstart.com upstart.com

Requirements

Must-haves

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 4+ years of software engineering experience.
Experience designing, building, testing, and deploying production software systems.
Experience developing customer-facing product features, platform capabilities, or backend services in a production environment.
Experience working with cross-functional partners such as product management, design, analytics, operations, legal, or compliance.
Experience making technical tradeoffs across system reliability, maintainability, scalability, and product delivery timelines.
#LI-MidSenior --> use for L5, L6
At Upstart, our benefits for full-time employees are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only)
Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
Family-centered benefits to support fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs
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
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.

Nice-to-haves

Knowledge of consumer lending, fintech, marketplace, or regulated product environments.
Experience building or improving conversion funnels, eligibility systems, decisioning workflows, or operational automation.
Ability to work through ambiguous product and technical problems by using data, judgment, and clear communication.
Skills in influencing technical direction and aligning stakeholders without direct authority.
Experience developing systems that balance customer experience, compliance needs, risk controls, and long-term engineering quality.
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote US and Canada
Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly

Application prep

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Platform: greenhouse
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401k

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Wellness