Software Engineer, Engagement

Upstart

3h•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 The Engagement team at Upstart is responsible for building compelling, high-impact product experiences that help users better understand and improve their financial health. We sit at the intersection of product, marketing, and engineering—partnering closely with Product Marketing, Growth, Design, Legal, and Compliance to launch and scale new customer-facing experiences. Our work powers initiatives like credit health monitoring, financial wellness tools, gamification features, and other engagement surfaces that bring users back regularly to explore Upstart’s AI-driven financial products. We focus on delivering the right tools, insights, and offers to users at the right time while ensuring seamless integration into Upstart’s broader platform.

Requirements

4+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong backend focus.
Experience building and maintaining production-grade applications using strongly typed languages such as Java, Kotlin, C#, C, or similar.
Hands-on experience designing and developing microservices and distributed systems.
Experience consuming and processing event streams or working with messaging/queue systems (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ, Celery, or similar).
Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-moving environments and drive projects from concept through launch.
Experience collaborating cross-functionally with Product and Design to deliver customer-facing features.

Nice To Haves

Experience building full-stack applications, with familiarity in React and/or Next.js.
Experience leading or playing a key role in 0→1 product initiatives.
Experience scaling high-traffic, consumer-facing applications across the stack.
Exposure to financial services, fintech, credit systems, or financial wellness products.
Experience supporting experimentation frameworks, A/B testing, and data-driven product optimization.
Familiarity with data modeling and graph-based representations of user or credit data.
Passion for building engaging user experiences that drive repeat usage and long-term customer value.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and development of full-stack systems that power new engagement experiences such as credit health monitoring, financial wellness tools, and gamified features.
Architect and build scalable microservices and event-driven systems (e.g., Kafka-based streams) to ingest, process, and surface user credit and financial data in real time.
Partner closely with Product, Product Marketing, and Design to translate ambiguous 0→1 concepts into robust, user-facing features that drive repeat engagement and long-term customer value.
Collaborate with Legal and Compliance to ensure new features meet regulatory and data governance requirements.
Optimize and experiment on key user surfaces—supporting A/B testing, iteration, and performance improvements across authenticated and unauthenticated experiences.
Contribute to the long-term vision of Upstart’s credit health and financial wellness ecosystem, including features that help users understand and improve the factors that influence their credit and borrowing power.
Help scale production systems across the stack, improving reliability, observability, and performance as adoption grows.

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!).