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 Bank is an evolution of Upstart’s AI lending platform, focused on simplifying the regulatory infrastructure behind our marketplace while expanding access to credit nationwide. By moving from a fragmented, state-based system to a unified federal framework, Upstart Bank enables more consistent borrower experiences, reduces structural costs, and unlocks opportunities to improve pricing, compliance, and access to credit at scale.

As Director of Engineering for Upstart Bank, you will build and lead the engineering organization responsible for the core platforms that enable the bank to operate at scale. Starting from a small, high-caliber seed team, you will define the technical strategy, organizational design, and execution model for systems spanning ledgering and funding, deposits and payments, marketplace integrations, and reporting. You will partner closely with Product, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Operations to deliver scalable, reliable, and audit-ready infrastructure for a modern banking platform.

This is a rare opportunity to help build a modern bank platform from an early foundation rather than inherit a legacy core.

How you’ll make an impact

• Build the Upstart Bank engineering organization from an initial seed team into a scaled, high-performing domain with multiple teams and managers
• Define and drive the technical strategy and architecture for core bank platforms, including ledgering and funding, deposits and payments, marketplace integrations, and reporting
• Set the organization design, hiring strategy, and leadership bench needed to scale the Upstart Bank engineering org
• Partner with Product and cross-functional leaders to translate business, regulatory, and operational priorities into engineering architecture, sequencing, and delivery
• Own delivery across critical bank platform domains, ensuring teams execute predictably and deliver reliable, scalable, high-quality infrastructure
• Establish engineering standards and operating mechanisms that support reliability, resilience, security, traceability, and auditability
• Lead cross-functional execution across complex dependencies with Compliance, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Operations
• Build systems and processes that support internal controls, audits, and high-confidence operation in a regulated environment
• Develop engineering leaders and foster a culture of high standards, ownership, and continuous improvement

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) + 10 years of experience, including at least 5 years of direct people management experience
• Experience building and scaling engineering organizations, including hiring and developing teams through periods of rapid growth or organizational formation
• Strong technical background with a track record of setting architecture and technical direction for complex distributed systems and cloud platforms
• Experience leading engineering in regulated or high-control environments where reliability, controls, auditability, and change management are critical
• Experience partnering with senior cross-functional and executive stakeholders on business-critical platforms

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building core financial infrastructure such as ledgering, payments, deposits, funding systems, reporting, or financial integrations
• Experience in banking, fintech, payments, or other regulated financial systems
• Experience building platforms that support internal controls, audits, and reliable operation in regulated environments
• Experience leading platform modernization, core-system launches, or major infrastructure transformations
• Demonstrated ability to attract and develop strong technical talent in competitive hiring markets
• Interest in improving access to credit through technology and scalable financial infrastructure

Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote, San Mateo, CA, and Columbus, OH

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.

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