Principal Software Engineer, Personal Loans

Upstart

1d•Remote

About The Position

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: Personal Loans Engineering owns the applicant journey and experience as they move through the loan application and verification process. PL Engineering is a conversion- and revenue-critical part of Upstart’s flagship product. The team brings single-threaded ownership to an experience that is aligning funnel outcomes and architectural evolution around one goal: maximizing originations while maintaining trust, risk integrity, and compliance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent experience) and 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong track record of building and scaling consumer-facing systems
Proven experience operating at a Staff or Principal level, leading large, ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives
Deep expertise in distributed systems, service-oriented architectures, and system design at scale
Demonstrated experience decomposing or modernizing tightly coupled systems into modular components/services with clear interfaces, while maintaining reliability and continuity.
Experience with experiment-driven development (instrumentation, A/B testing, analysis/iteration) and translating product goals into technical execution.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to explain complex technical topics to non-technical stakeholders
Track record of successfully mentoring and developing other engineers around you while seeking out and appreciating constructive feedback

Nice To Haves

Experience with full stack web development with Ruby on Rails, React, and cloud-native development (AWS preferred) and Docker, GitHub Actions, utilizing CI/CD technologies including infrastructure as code
Familiarity with onboarding/funnel optimization in high-scale consumer products, including conversion and time-to-complete improvements.
Experience in the customer support tech domain (e.g., contact center platforms, customer engagement solutions, or conversational AI systems)
Experience building in regulated or high-trust domains (e.g., fintech, lending, identity/verification, payments) where correctness and compliance are first-class constraints.
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

Responsibilities

Set technical direction for the applicant funnel
Define and drive the architecture of the end-to-end “Got Rate → Funded Loan” journey
Identify and resolve systemic bottlenecks impacting conversion, latency, and reliability
Lead large, cross-team initiatives
Own ambiguous, high-impact efforts that span Growth, Verifications Platform, Risk/Decisioning, and Lending Partners
Align multiple teams around cohesive technical strategies and execution plans
Drive decomposition of tightly coupled systems into scalable, reusable services and APIs
Enable cross-product reuse across unsecured lending while maintaining system integrity
Translate complex business problems into systems
Balance product velocity, risk constraints, compliance requirements, and long-term maintainability
Partner deeply with product, risk, compliance, and operations to deliver measurable business outcomes
Elevate experimentation frameworks and data-driven iteration across the funnel
Identify and lead opportunities for AI-driven experiences (e.g., adaptive flows, conversational interfaces, automation)
Establish best practices in system design, observability, testing, and operational excellence
Mentor senior and staff engineers and influence engineering culture across the organization
Provide technical leadership beyond the team, influencing architecture and strategy across Personal Loans and adjacent domains
Proactively identify long-term risks and opportunities, and drive alignment with leadership

Benefits

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!).