Applied Scientist

Upstart

1d•$141,500 - $196,000•Remote

About The Position

Upstart’s Partnerships team drives customer acquisition and originations through partner offers and focuses on improving offer optimization across the customer journey. The Applied Scientist will use causal inference, experimentation, and machine learning to determine which offers are most likely to support customer conversion. This is a greenfield optimization opportunity, spanning research and measurement through production-ready models and decision strategies. The role is available remotely. Upstart is digital-first, and employees may work remotely while participating in team in-person sessions, whose cadence varies by team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for two to four consecutive days. The anticipated U.S. remote base salary range is $141,500–$196,000. Total compensation may also include target bonuses and equity. Actual base pay depends on location, skills, experience, and education or training.

Requirements

Graduate degree in mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, physics, econometrics, operations research, computer science, or a related quantitative field.
At least 2 years of experience conducting machine-learning, statistical-modeling, or applied quantitative research in an academic or industry setting.
Experience applying causal inference methods and experimentation to real-world decisions in an applied-science or data-science context.
Expertise in applied statistics, probability, and experimental design used to build or evaluate models or interventions.
Production-quality Python coding experience, including data manipulation and algorithm implementation.

Nice To Haves

PhD in a quantitative field.
Experience with marketplace optimization, particularly where pricing or offer decisions are central.
Experience with causal machine-learning methods or treatment-effect modeling.
Experience with supervised learning, model evaluation, and feature engineering, especially with large or complex datasets.
Experience taking work from exploratory analysis and experimentation through production-model development while maintaining analytical rigor and model reliability.
Ability to translate broad business problems into structured research questions and communicate complex findings as actionable recommendations.

Responsibilities

Develop causal machine-learning models to optimize customer offers at different points in the funnel, using information available at marketing time and customer activity on the company site.
Analyze and interpret complex data, identify knowledge gaps, and design experiments to gather evidence for building and evaluating optimization models.
Measure the impact of offer changes using statistically rigorous experiments and evaluations.
Translate research and results into clear recommendations, decision strategies, and next steps for business and technical partners.
Build production-ready models and code for offer selection.
Partner with Partnerships leadership, Product, Engineering, peer machine-learning teams, and model-risk partners to align on strategy, implementation, and methodology.

Benefits

Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly.
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 U.S., CAD in Canada).
Employee Stock Purchase Plan with discounted stock purchase options for eligible U.S. employees.
Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for U.S. employees, and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible U.S. plans.
Life insurance and disability coverage.
Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays in line with local requirements.
Paid family and parental leave; duration varies by country.
Family-centered benefits supporting fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs.
Employee Assistance Program offering mental health support and life-centered resources.
Financial wellness resources, including financial planning tools and a financial concierge service for U.S. employees.
Annual wellness allowance supporting physical and emotional well-being and personal development.
Annual productivity allowance for relevant work tools and resources.
Team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups.
Catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens at offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City.