Director of Product, Machine Learning & Decisioning Platforms

OhioX; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 216,000 - 299,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k match

Equity grant

ESPP

Health insurance

Wellness allowance

Paid time off

Job summary

Upstart is seeking a Director of Product, Machine Learning & Decisioning Platforms to lead product strategy for platforms powering credit decisioning and ML capabilities. You will manage senior PMs, partner with engineering and ML leaders, and drive system improvements across pricing, underwriting, model deployment, and innovation.

The role demands strong technical fluency, coaching ability, and a talent for aligning technical work with business outcomes in financial services.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of product management experience, including experience leading technical or platform products.
• Experience managing and developing product managers, ideally across multiple interconnected teams.
• Strong technical fluency and experience partnering with engineering, machine learning, and data science teams.
• Demonstrated ability to set strategy, navigate ambiguity, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to connect technical and product decisions to business outcomes, particularly in credit, lending, or financial services.
• A track record of building strong teams and raising the quality of product management practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of product managers, setting clear priorities and raising the quality of product management across the organization.
• Define the product strategy and roadmap for the platforms powering Upstart’s credit decisioning and machine learning capabilities.
• Partner with engineering and machine learning leaders to improve model development, versioning, deployment, forecasting, experimentation, and monitoring.
• Evolve underwriting and decisioning systems to better connect customer information, model outputs, and business outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to apply machine learning across the business, validate them through focused MVPs, and build the strongest opportunities into scalable products.
• Create scalable processes for evaluating, onboarding, and integrating data vendors and other ML capabilities.
• Balance near-term execution with long-term platform investment, making thoughtful trade-offs across impact, risk, technical complexity, and speed.
• Build alignment across teams and ensure machine learning is incorporated into product strategy from the start.

Skills

Product leadership

Platform products

ML collaboration

Technical fluency

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in technical field

Job description

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 thats both radically intelligent and deeply human. Our platform runs over one million predictions per borrower using more than 3,000 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 is looking for a Director of Product, Machine Learning & Decisioning Platforms to help us achieve our mission of enabling effortless credit based on true risk. This role will lead the product strategy and team responsible for the platforms that power Upstart’s credit decisioning and machine learning platform capabilities. This is a highly technical, platform-focused product leadership role at the core of Upstart’s business. You will manage and develop a team of experienced product managers, set strategy across multiple interconnected product areas, and partner closely with engineering and machine learning leaders to evolve the systems underlying pricing, underwriting, model deployment, and ML innovation.

The ideal candidate is a strong product leader and coach who can bring structure to complex, ambiguous problems; connect technical decisions to business and customer outcomes; and create alignment across teams. While you will remain close to the product, this role is primarily focused on setting direction, developing talent, and enabling your team to deliver high-impact results.

How you’ll make an impact

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of product managers, setting clear priorities and raising the quality of product management across the organization.
• Define the product strategy and roadmap for the platforms powering Upstart’s credit decisioning and machine learning capabilities.
• Partner with engineering and machine learning leaders to improve model development, versioning, deployment, forecasting, experimentation, and monitoring.
• Evolve underwriting and decisioning systems to better connect customer information, model outputs, and business outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to apply machine learning across the business, validate them through focused MVPs, and build the strongest opportunities into scalable products.
• Create scalable processes for evaluating, onboarding, and integrating data vendors and other ML capabilities.
• Balance near-term execution with long-term platform investment, making thoughtful trade-offs across impact, risk, technical complexity, and speed.
• Build alignment across teams and ensure machine learning is incorporated into product strategy from the start.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of product management experience, including experience leading technical or platform products.
• Experience managing and developing product managers, ideally across multiple interconnected teams.
• Strong technical fluency and experience partnering with engineering, machine learning, and data science teams.
• Demonstrated ability to set strategy, navigate ambiguity, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to connect technical and product decisions to business outcomes, particularly in credit, lending, or financial services.
• A track record of building strong teams and raising the quality of product management practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a data scientist, machine learning engineer, or other machine learning individual contributor.
• Experience with model lifecycle management, decisioning systems, experimentation, optimization, or real-time inference platforms.
• Experience building or scaling online financial products, particularly in consumer lending or credit.

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.

Salary

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: $216,100 - $299,000 USD

Canada | Remote

Anticipated Base Salary Range: $212,500 - $270,000 CAD

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 currently able to hire in Quebec.

Equal Opportunity Statement

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.

Accommodation Note

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 [e-mail]

Candidate Privacy Policy

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy