Senior Privacy Engineer

Upstart

11d•$164,800 - $228,400•Remote

About The Position

Upstart's Privacy Engineering team builds the systems, tools, and technical controls that help protect borrower, applicant, partner, and Upstarter data across our products and platforms. The team works across Engineering, Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, and Machine Learning to make privacy-by-design practical and scalable. As a Privacy Engineer II at Upstart, you will build software and services that embed privacy controls into the core architecture of Upstart’s products and technical systems. You will help implement privacy-enhancing technologies, data minimization patterns, and governance tooling that support responsible data use across Upstart’s AI lending marketplace.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 3+ years of experience in software engineering
Experience building and operating production software systems using programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Scala, C++, Rust, or similar languages
Experience building APIs, microservices, libraries, or backend services that support data governance, privacy controls, security controls, or data platform capabilities
Experience with at least two privacy or security domains such as anonymization, pseudonymization, data retention, deletion, data lineage, access control, encryption, audit logging, or data minimization
Experience translating privacy, security, compliance, or data protection requirements into software systems or technical workflows

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of privacy-by-design principles, privacy-enhancing technologies, purpose limitation, consent, retention, deletion, and data subject rights
Experience with data governance systems, data catalogs, lineage tooling, personally identifiable information detection, redaction, or automated policy enforcement
Experience supporting privacy reviews, threat modeling, data flow mapping, or technical risk assessments for production systems
Experience working with machine learning systems, financial services, lending, or another regulated data environment
Ability to communicate privacy engineering tradeoffs clearly across technical, legal, compliance, product, and business audiences

Responsibilities

Design, build, and operate privacy engineering services that support user control, data governance, anonymization, pseudonymization, retention, deletion, and auditability
Implement privacy-by-design patterns and data minimization controls across Upstart’s products, services, data pipelines, and machine learning systems
Build APIs, libraries, services, and developer tools that help engineering teams standardize privacy enforcement across the technology stack
Partner with Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, Machine Learning, and Infrastructure teams to translate privacy requirements into clear technical specifications
Support privacy reviews, data flow assessments, and technical risk assessments for new products, data uses, and platform capabilities
Improve the reliability, observability, and maintainability of privacy systems through testing, monitoring, documentation, and thoughtful technical design

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!)