Principal Product Designer, HELOC

Upstart; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Upstart is seeking a Principal Product Designer for its Home Lending team to enhance the HELOC product experience. This role involves leading design strategy, collaborating with various teams, and mentoring other designers. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in fintech and a strong portfolio demonstrating impactful design work.

Benefits

Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)

Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)

Life and disability insurance

Generous holiday and vacation leave

Annual wellness reimbursement programs

Catered lunches and snacks in offices

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience designing consumer-facing digital products.
• Strong portfolio showcasing intuitive UX and measurable business impact.
• Proven ability to guide and mentor design talent.

Responsibilities

• Lead design strategy for the HELOC application funnel.
• Craft empowering experiences simplifying complex financial decisions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to shape roadmap and execution.

Skills

UX Design

Interaction Design

Visual Design

Systems Thinking

Collaboration

Usability Testing

Accessibility Standards

Tools

Figma

UserTesting

Job description

The Team

Upstart’s Home Lending team is tackling one of the most complex, high-stakes financial decisions people make: borrowing against their home. We’re building products that bring speed, simplicity, and inclusivity to an industry notorious for its friction and opacity. Our first offering—a radically faster, more accessible Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)—is already gaining strong traction. Now we’re expanding the team to scale our HELOC experience and lay the foundation for future mortgage products.

As a Principal Product Designer on Home Lending, you’ll shape the end-to-end experience for Upstart’s HELOC product, rethinking the application journey from the ground up. You’ll own the design strategy across acquisition, onboarding, qualification, pricing, and offer presentation—creating an experience that is intuitive, elegant, and grounded in trust. You’ll partner closely with Product, Engineering, Machine Learning, and Legal/Compliance to ensure that the experience meets both user needs and regulatory standards. And you'll mentor other designers as we grow the team and the product.

Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Time Zone Requirements - This team operates across all U.S. 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.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Lead design strategy and execution for the full HELOC application funnel
• Craft elegant, empowering experiences that simplify complex financial decisions
• Collaborate across PM, Engineering, ML, and Compliance to shape roadmap and execution
• Design across web, mobile, and email to ensure consistency and platform optimization
• Conduct research and usability testing to uncover insights and validate decisions
• Define scalable design patterns and systems to support future product expansion
• Balance clarity, empathy, and compliance in a high-trust product environment
• Mentor other designers and shape the evolution of Upstart’s design culture and practices

What we’re looking for:

• Minimum requirements:
  • 10+ years of experience designing consumer-facing digital products, ideally in fintech or high-stakes decision environments
  • Strong portfolio showcasing intuitive UX, high design quality, and measurable business impact
  • Experience leading design for complex, multi-step flows (e.g., eligibility, pricing, personalization)
  • Mastery of interaction design, visual design, and systems thinking
  • Strong collaborator with product, engineering, legal, and data partners
  • Skilled in design rationale, facilitation, and navigating ambiguity
  • Fluency with modern design and research tools (Figma, UserTesting, etc.)
  • Proven ability to guide and mentor design talent across teams

• Preferred qualifications:
  • Experience designing financial products involving qualification, lending, or regulatory compliance
  • Familiarity with experimentation, funnel optimization, and growth-oriented design
  • Background in behavioral science, service design, or decision architecture
  • Experience working within and contributing to design systems
  • Commitment to accessibility and inclusive design standards

What you'll love:

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart
• 401(k) with 100% company match up to $4,500 and immediate vesting and after-tax savings
• 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

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