Senior Manager, Performance Marketing, Paid Social 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 Digital Marketing team drives scalable, data-driven customer acquisition across our lending products via performance marketing channels. We design, execute, and optimize digital media strategies that connect consumers to credit at the moments that matter most. Through rigorous experimentation, channel optimization, and disciplined CAC management, the team plays a critical role in fueling Upstart’s growth while maintaining strong unit economics for the business. As the Senior Manager, Performance Marketing, Paid Social , you will own the strategy, execution, and growth of paid social acquisition for Upstart’s Personal Loans business. You will be a hands-on media buyer responsible for building profitable scale across social platforms, partnering closely with our media agency while maintaining direct ownership of performance, testing, and optimization. This role sits at the intersection of media buying, creative strategy, audience development, and marketing analytics. You will translate business goals into channel strategy, identify opportunities to improve conversion and efficiency, and work cross-functionally to develop the creative, targeting, and measurement capabilities needed to grow Personal Loans profitably. This role offers exceptional ownership and visibility, with the chance to make a material impact on one of Upstart’s newest and most strategic product lines while laying the foundation for long-term growth. How you’ll make an impact Own and optimize paid social and video acquisition for Personal Loans, managing campaign strategy, setup, bidding, budgets, pacing, and performance across key platforms. Work closely with our media agency to establish channel strategy, manage execution, evaluate recommendations , and hold the partnership accountable to volume, CAC, and profitability goals. Be hands-on in the platform, using performance data to make media investments, optimization decisions, and improve campaign efficiency. Develop and execute a creative strategy in partnership with Creative and agency teams , including testing frameworks, messaging hypotheses, formats, production priorities, and creative performance analysis. Build and refine audience strategies across prospecting , retargeting, customer lists, lookalikes, and other first- and third-party audience solutions. Drive geo-list targeting and geographic experimentation with our analytics team to identify incremental growth opportunities, improve channel economics, and bring paid social toward profitability. Design and analyze structured tests across audiences, creative, bidding, placements, geographies, and funnel experiences , using incrementality and down-funnel performance to guide investment decisions. Partner with Analytics, Product Marketing, Creative, Lifecycle, and Growth Product teams to i mprove the full acquisition funnel from impression through funded loan . Manage and forecast significant media budgets , balancing growth, customer volume, and contribution economics while adapting quickly to changing performance trends. Minimum Qualifications 7+ years of experience in performance marketing or digital media buying , with significant hands-on experience managing paid social and video campaigns. Proven experience owning and scaling paid social acquisition programs against CAC, CPA, ROI, revenue, or profitability goals. Demonstrated expertise in paid social platforms, including campaign structure, bidding, budgeting, audience management, creative testing, and performance optimization. Experience partnering with external media agencies, including setting strategy, reviewing performance, challenging recommendations, and managing executional accountability. Experience developing or executing a paid media creative strategy, including messaging, format, testing, and performance analysis. Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret channel and funnel data, design experiments, and make investment decisions in ambiguous environments. Experience using geographic targeting, geo experiments, customer lists, or other audience segmentation approaches to improve acquisition efficiency and measure incrementality. Preferred Qualifications Experience operating in highly regulated or longer consideration cycle vertical (e.g., financial services, fintech, lending, insurance, marketplaces). - Experience launching and scaling new channels or products from zero to one, with comfort operating in ambiguity and building an acquisition funnel from scratch. - Experience working closely with product and engineering teams to improve landing pages, funnels, and on-site conversion through testing and iteration. Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/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-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). United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range $138,600 — $192,000 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

7+ years of experience in performance marketing or digital media buying , with significant hands-on experience managing paid social and video campaigns.
Proven experience owning and scaling paid social acquisition programs against CAC, CPA, ROI, revenue, or profitability goals.
Demonstrated expertise in paid social platforms, including campaign structure, bidding, budgeting, audience management, creative testing, and performance optimization.
Experience partnering with external media agencies, including setting strategy, reviewing performance, challenging recommendations, and managing executional accountability.
Experience developing or executing a paid media creative strategy, including messaging, format, testing, and performance analysis.
Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret channel and funnel data, design experiments, and make investment decisions in ambiguous environments.
Experience using geographic targeting, geo experiments, customer lists, or other audience segmentation approaches to improve acquisition efficiency and measure incrementality.
#LI-MidSenior
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

Experience operating in highly regulated or longer consideration cycle vertical (e.g., financial services, fintech, lending, insurance, marketplaces).
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote
Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.
Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly

Application prep

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Keywords to mirror

Platform: greenhouse
Effort: quick

Benefits

Benefits detected in the listing.

Dental

Vision

401k

401(K)

Paid Time Off

Parental Leave

Wellness