Sr. Manager, Software Engineering - Machine Learning Simulations

Upstart

1d•$195,300 - $270,400•Remote

About The Position

Upstart's Machine Learning and Simulations Platform team builds and operates the infrastructure behind ML model training, features engineering, inference, and marketplace simulation. Our simulation platform answers one question before any change reaches a borrower: what would this new ML model, price, or fee have produced for real applicants? It replays historical data through production pricing logic in isolated environments, and it is now the shared tool every machine learning team at Upstart uses to size the impact of a launch. Our priorities are reliability teams can bet a launch on, fidelity to production we can prove, cost per simulation stays in check as usage grows, and coverage that extends across the lending funnel and into new loan products. As the Senior Engineering Manager, Machine Learning Simulations at Upstart, you will lead the team that owns this platform. Today machine learning teams run roughly a thousand simulations a month on it. Your job is to make it production-grade, cut its cost while usage doubles, and open it to Analytics and Finance teams who need the same answers about pricing and portfolio strategy. You will work across machine learning, pricing, product, analytics, and infrastructure teams, many of whom own the logic your platform has to reproduce faithfully.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years of engineering management experience
Experience leading engineering teams that build and operate backend platforms or distributed systems in production
Experience delivering platform or infrastructure programs that span multiple teams
Proficiency with some or many of the following: Python, Kotlin, AWS, Kubernetes, Databricks, Spark

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of simulation, backtesting, experimentation, or offline model evaluation systems
Experience supporting machine learning teams or operating MLOps infrastructure, including model inference, workflow orchestration, and offline feature pipelines
Knowledge of lending, pricing, credit risk, or marketplace economics
Ability to treat compute cost and efficiency as an engineering goal alongside reliability
Ability to build shared platforms where partner teams own part of the logic, and to keep those interfaces steady as systems evolve
Experience developing senior engineers and emerging engineering leaders

Responsibilities

Own the engineering roadmap for Upstart's marketplace simulation platform, and decide which teams and use cases it serves next
Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers working across distributed services, offline data pipelines, and large-scale compute
Raise simulation reliability and accuracy to a level teams trust for launch decisions, including automated checks that detect drift between simulated and production results
Reduce the cost of each simulation as usage grows, through smart architecture and compute choices
Extend simulation coverage across the lending funnel and into new loan products, partnering with the teams who own each stage of pricing and decisioning logic
Turn recurring questions from machine learning, analytics, and capital markets partners into self-serve simulation workflows

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!)