Senior Applied ML Engineer

Upstart

2d•$159,000 - $231,800•Remote

About The Position

Upstart's Applied LLM team is building foundational infrastructure that democratizes access to generative AI for every product and engineering team across the company. This is a cross-functional team at the intersection of machine learning, product, and engineering. Our mission is to bring the power of ML, particularly large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, to life in Upstart’s core products. As a Senior Applied Machine Learning Engineer focused on building Upstart's LLM applications, you'll work closely with researchers, product managers, platform engineers, and designers to ship intelligent features that elevate the user experience and expand the capabilities of our systems.

Requirements

4+ years of software engineering experience, with 2+ years working directly on ML-driven products or intelligent systems
Proven ability to lead complex initiatives across engineering, product, and research stakeholders
Strong backend development skills (e.g., Python with FastAPI or Flask), plus experience with cloud-native tooling (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform)
Experience integrating LLMs or ML models into production systems, including APIs and user-facing applications
Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, product-minded approach
Ability to think rigorously about system design, latency tradeoffs, and user impact when working with ML features

Nice To Haves

Experience shipping GenAI or LLM-powered features using frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, or OpenAI APIs
Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector search (e.g., FAISS, Pinecone), and real-time inference patterns
Proficiency in full-stack development, including front-end work with React or similar frameworks
Strong intuition for prompt engineering, model testing, and evaluation methodologies
Experience navigating complex requirements around explainability, user trust, or compliance in ML applications
Track record of influencing architecture or product direction at a team or org level

Responsibilities

Design and build user-facing ML features that harness LLMs and generative AI to unlock new product capabilities
Partner with product, design, and ML research to prototype and deliver high-impact, ML-powered experiences
Own the technical architecture and implementation strategy for applied ML systems - balancing latency, observability, and iteration speed
Build scalable services and APIs that bring model outputs to users in trustworthy and intuitive ways
Collaborate across platform, infra, and legal/compliance teams to ensure ML deployments meet standards for safety, fairness, and performance
Establish and evangelize best practices for prompt design, model evaluation, and experimentation across the org

Benefits

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 (opening Summer 2026!)