Lead, Operations & Customer Experience (AI Tools)

Upstart; North Carolina; On-site; USD 59,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

401(k) match

ESPP (US)

Healthcare

HSA contributions

OT pay eligibility

Job summary

Upstart is seeking an Lead Operations Associate, Customer Experience, to support daily team health by building practical AI tools, analyzing workforce needs, investigating issues, and guiding peers. This individual contributor role partners with Operations Managers to improve quality, productivity, and service levels while identifying risks early and driving improvements to results.

The role is based in Columbus, OH with in-office requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience resolving complex customer or operational issues across systems and customer support channels.
• Experience analyzing operational or workforce data, including demand, handle time, service levels, backlog, and coverage, to recommend staffing or scheduling responses.
• Experience supporting peer development through training, process guidance, or routine feedback.
• Experience investigating root causes and coordinating operational improvements across teams, from gathering evidence through testing solutions and documenting outcomes.
• Consumer lending or fintech experience, including familiarity with verification, policy, or compliance workflows.
• Experience building or improving AI tools, reusable prompt workflows, or operational automations, including testing outputs, evaluating results, and supporting adoption; experience with customer-facing AI or chatbot quality.
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain operational findings, influence without direct authority, and exercise judgment on sensitive escalations.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, adapt to feedback, and communicate risks with evidence and a recommended next step.

Responsibilities

• Improve performance across phone, email, and chat by monitoring queue health, service levels, backlog, and operational trends, and recommending timely responses to staffing gaps and bottlenecks.
• Investigate complex applicant issues and performance gaps across systems, policies, staffing, and team handoffs; identify root causes, recommend fixes, and verify whether changes resolve the issue.
• Partner with workforce management and Operations Managers to interpret demand, capacity, coverage, occupancy, adherence, and shrinkage data and recommend staffing or scheduling adjustments.
• Provide peer training, process guidance, and routine feedback, maintain team resources, and complete spot checks; upscale formal coaching and performance concerns to Operations Managers.
• Coordinate improvements with internal and vendor partners, help define requirements and test rollouts, and escalate automation exceptions or system failures with clear documentation during incidents and high-volume events.

Skills

Customer support

Operations data analysis

Peer training

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Workforce management platforms

Routing systems

Operational dashboards

Spreadsheet analysis

Job description

Upstart is seeking an Lead Operations Associate, Customer Experience, to support daily team health by building practical AI tools, analyzing workforce needs, investigating issues, and guiding peers. This individual contributor role partners with Operations Managers to improve quality, productivity, and service levels while identifying risks early and driving improvements to results.

The role is based in Columbus, OH with in-office requirements.