Software Engineer, Foundations

About Upstart

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:

Upstart’s Foundations team builds and maintains the large-scale data platforms that support Growth marketing initiatives across the business. The team powers audience segmentation, marketing campaign enablement, and user session attribution systems that directly influence customer acquisition and loan conversion outcomes.

As a Software Engineer, Foundations at Upstart, you will help scale and extend backend data systems that enable high-quality, reliable marketing data workflows. You will partner closely with engineering, product, and marketing stakeholders to improve data availability, maintainability, and observability while supporting business-critical marketing operations.

How You’ll Make An Impact

• Build and maintain scalable backend systems and data pipelines that support audience segmentation and marketing attribution workflows
• Partner with product managers, marketers, and engineers to deliver data solutions that support customer acquisition and conversion goals
• Extend existing data infrastructure to support increasing data volumes, evolving business requirements, and new integrations
• Contribute to data quality initiatives by implementing monitoring, validation, and guardrail mechanisms across critical datasets
• Participate in technical discussions around architecture, access patterns, and platform scalability to support long-term platform growth

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) plus 3 years of software engineering experience
• 3+ years of experience building and maintaining backend distributed systems or large-scale data platforms
• Experience working with data processing systems, databases, or data pipelines in production environments
• Experience implementing fault tolerance, monitoring, and observability practices for backend systems
• Experience collaborating cross-functionally with engineering, product, or business stakeholders to deliver technical solutions

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of data modeling and schema design best practices for large-scale data systems
• Experience supporting marketing technology, attribution, or customer segmentation platforms
• Familiarity with data governance, privacy, and PII security considerations
• Ability to balance short-term feature delivery with long-term platform maintainability and scalability
• Experience contributing to architectural discussions and improving engineering best practices across teams

Position location

This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Travel requirements

As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live and work anywhere in the U.S but are encouraged to to still spend high quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites. The in-person sessions’ cadence varies depending on the team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days at a time.

At Upstart, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the below range. Your actual base pay will depend on your geographic location–with our “digital first” philosophy, Upstart uses compensation regions that vary depending on location. Individual pay is also determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

In addition, Upstart provides employees with target bonuses, equity compensation, and generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k).

United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range
$142,000 - $196,000 USD

What You'll Love

At Upstart, our benefits are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:

• 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!)

For roles based in Canada, please note that we are not able to hire in Quebec.

Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Just as we are dedicated to improving access to affordable credit for all, we are committed to inclusive and fair hiring practices.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please email candidate_accommodations@upstart.com

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy

Key skills/competency

• Software Engineering
• Backend Development
• Data Platforms
• Data Pipelines
• Distributed Systems
• Marketing Technology
• Scalability
• Observability
• Fault Tolerance
• AI Lending