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 Risk team is hiring to enhance its second line of defense function in support of its application to establish a national bank. The Risk team is responsible for Upstart’s enterprise risk management program and risk governance, as well as for providing independent oversight and credible challenge across the following risk categories: operational risk, treasury risk (including liquidity risk, interest rate risk, price risk, and capital management), and operational risk. We partner with first-line business functions, senior and executive leadership, and the board of directors to ensure effective identification and assessment, measurement, monitoring and reporting, and response and control for all core risk types and in alignment with regulatory expectations.

Upstart is hiring a Director, Enterprise Risk Management to lead and grow the Risk team’s ERM function for Upstart Bank. This role will establish, maintain, and continually enhance the bank’s ERM program and framework, including: management and maintenance of the risk appetite statement and other ERM program governing documents; ownership of risk assessment processes and methodologies; collection and monitoring of risk metrics; coordination of all risk governance activities, including aggregated management and board risk reporting. Additionally, this role will oversee the operational risk team responsible for conducting ongoing risk and control assessments across the bank’s operations. This includes establishing an operational risk program framework and risk assessment schedule, recommending actions to mitigate operational risk, and producing risk reporting and insights on the bank’s aggregated operational risk profile, trends, and high risk areas.

This role will manage the ERM Program and Operational Risk teams, and will be responsible for building out existing risk infrastructure and processes to meet the rigorous expectations of a nationally chartered bank, including hiring additional roles to expand existing team capacity. As a senior member of the Risk organization, this role works collaboratively with internal leaders across all three lines of defense, and will serve as a primary point of contact for management as well as external stakeholders such as bank examiners on matters related to the bank’s ERM and Operational Risk programs, including during the charter application process.

How you’ll make an impact

Define and maintain the Bank's enterprise risk management framework, including risk appetite statement, risk assessment methodology, and aggregated risk reportingLead the ERM Program team in executing enterprise risk assessments; maintaining risk and control inventories and gap tracking; and measuring risk quantitatively via key risk indicators for all risk categoriesEnsure consistent quantitative and qualitative risk identification, assessment, and measurement methodologies Direct the team's work on risk committee and board reporting, policy management, and ERM program maintenance and executionDirect the Operational Risk Program activities, ensuring consistent assessment methodology is applied across all product lines and providing actionable analysis and insights on high risk areas requiring actionServe as a senior point of escalation and relationship manager for external stakeholders including OCC examiners, internal and external auditors, capital markets partners, and lending partnersDevelop, manage, and hire for the ERM Program and Operational Risk Program teams

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
• 10+ years of experience in enterprise risk management in a banking or financial services environment
• Demonstrated experience building or leading an enterprise risk management program, including risk framework development, risk assessment methodology, quantitative risk measurement, and risk governance
• Direct experience working with OCC, Federal Reserve, or other federal banking regulator examination processes
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (MBA, JD, or equivalent) or professional risk certification
• Experience at a de novo bank, bank holding company, or OCC-regulated institution at an early stage of build-out
• Experience leading cross-functional risk teams spanning multiple risk domains
• Familiarity with OCC Comptroller's Handbook standards for ERM, operational risk, and risk governance
• Strong quantitative skills with experience in risk data aggregation, KRI design, and GRC tool management
• Experience presenting to board-level risk committees or senior executive leadership on risk programs and results
  

Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.

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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