Upstart · 1 day ago
Principal Software Engineer, New Product
United States
Full-time
Remote
Lead/Staff
$186K/yr - $258K/yr
8+ years expUpstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. The role involves setting technical direction and leading architectural design for core backend systems that power a new consumer credit product, while building reliable and scalable distributed services.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)AutomotiveConsumer LendingCreditFinancial ServicesFinTechLendingMachine LearningPersonal Finance
Responsibilities
Set technical direction and lead architectural design for core backend systems that power a new consumer credit product
Build distributed, event-driven services that are reliable, observable, and scalable—designed for long-term evolution
Drive zero-to-one product development in collaboration with cross-functional partners, translating ambiguous product goals into high-impact solutions
Champion engineering velocity and quality by shaping patterns, practices, and tooling across the stack
Lead with an AI-native mindset—leveraging and integrating AI tools to improve development workflows, reduce friction, and accelerate impact
Serve as a technical mentor and thought leader within a high-performing, fast-moving team
Influence product direction through technical insights, customer empathy, and an ability to balance tradeoffs between speed, scale, and quality
Qualification
Required
8+ years of experience designing and building backend systems in production, with a focus on consumer-scale applications
Deep expertise in distributed systems and event-driven architectures (Kafka, Kinesis, SQS, etc.), including experience with idempotency, retries, and fault tolerance
Strong command of an object-oriented programming language (e.g., Java, Kotlin, C#, Python, Ruby), along with experience working with APIs, databases, and caching systems
Proven success leading complex, zero-to-one product development in ambiguous or fast-changing environments
Demonstrated ability to influence product strategy through technical leadership and user-centric thinking
Track record of building with observability and operational excellence in mind (metrics, logs, traces, alerting, etc.)
Active use of AI tools in engineering, with a forward-looking perspective on how AI is reshaping software development
Exceptional communication and collaboration skills; able to align teams and advocate for high-impact solutions across functions
Preferred
Experience leading technical initiatives at B2C fintech or high-scale consumer technology companies
Background in payments, credit, or transactional systems with high reliability and regulatory requirements
Familiarity with schema management and safe data migrations (e.g., Protobuf, Avro) in distributed systems
History of setting architectural direction and influencing engineering culture in high-growth environments
Entrepreneurial mindset—comfortable wearing multiple hats, operating autonomously, and navigating early-stage product phases
Passion for building products that expand access and improve outcomes for underserved users
Demonstrated interest in agentic or AI-assisted systems and enthusiasm for shaping the future of AI-native software development
Benefits
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart
Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
Life and disability insurance
Generous holiday, vacation, sick and safety leave
Supportive parental, family care, and military leave programs
Annual wellness, technology & ergonomic reimbursement programs
Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates, employee resource groups (ERGs), and other interest groups such as book clubs, fitness, investing, and volunteering
Catered lunches + snacks & drinks when working in offices
Company
Upstart
Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) is a leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Upstart has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (68)
2024 (67)
2023 (85)
2022 (85)
2021 (42)
2020 (15)
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$3.36BKey Investors
CastlelakeProgressiveRakuten
2025-11-06Post Ipo Debt· $1.5B
2025-09-05Post Ipo Debt· $320M
2025-08-12Post Ipo Debt· $600M
Leadership Team
Dave Girouard
Founder & CEO
Paul Gu
Co-Founder
Recent News
The Motley Fool
2026-01-03
The Motley Fool
2026-01-01
2025-12-17
Company data provided by crunchbase