About the role

Senior Software Engineer leading backend and full-stack lending systems for Upstart’s AI-powered credit marketplace. Designing scalable APIs, services, and borrower experiences while mentoring engineers.

Responsibilities

Own design and delivery of large, complex backend and full-stack initiatives from planning through launch and maintenance
Set technical direction for service architecture, APIs, data models, and system integrations
Own a 3–6 month roadmap and address systemic reliability and team-effectiveness gaps
Partner with product, frontend, design, platform, and backend engineers to build scalable systems
Improve service and API design, data integrity, testing, observability, security, and operational rigor
Break down ambiguous problems into clear, testable plans and use data to guide tradeoffs
Mentor engineers through code reviews, design reviews, and technical guidance
Contribute to AI use in development workflows and product capabilities

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
6+ years of professional software engineering experience
Deep proficiency designing and building backend services and APIs in Python, Java, Kotlin, Go, Ruby, or Node.js
Experience with service architecture, API design, data modeling, relational or non-relational databases, and distributed systems
Track record independently leading large, business-critical backend or full-stack projects in production
Experience with testing, monitoring, incident response, performance optimization, and long-term operational ownership
Ability to work effectively in ambiguous environments with evolving requirements and system boundaries
Strong communication and collaboration skills
Preferred: backend or full-stack technical leadership experience
Preferred: consumer-facing products or high-volume transactional systems
Preferred: fintech, lending, payments, or regulated financial products
Preferred: distributed systems, asynchronous processing, event-driven or service-oriented architectures
Preferred: cloud infrastructure, data stores, messaging systems, and CI/CD workflows
Preferred: experimentation, feature flagging, or iterative production improvements
Preferred: generative AI experience

Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible US employees
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, wellness, and supplemental health coverage
Health Savings Account contributions for eligible US plans
Life insurance and disability coverage
Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays
Paid family and parental leave
Fertility, parenthood, and caregiving benefits
Employee Assistance Program with mental health support and life-centered resources
Financial planning tools and financial concierge service for US employees
Annual wellness allowance
Annual productivity allowance for relevant tools and resources
Team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups
Catered lunches and stocked micro-kitchens at offices