Senior Privacy Engineer

Upstart; United States; Hybrid; USD 164,800 - 228,400; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k match

Employee ESPP

Job summary

Upstart’s Privacy Engineering team builds the systems, tools, and technical controls that help protect borrower, applicant, partner, and Upstarter data across our products and platforms. As a Privacy Engineer II at Upstart, you will design, build, and operate privacy engineering services that embed privacy controls into the core architecture of Upstart’s products and data pipelines.

You will collaborate with Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, ML, and Infrastructure teams to translate

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 3+ years of software engineering experience.
• Experience building production software using Python, Go, Java, Scala, C++, Rust, or similar languages.
• Experience building APIs, microservices, libraries, or backend services for data governance or privacy controls.
• Experience translating privacy, security, compliance, or data protection requirements into software systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate privacy engineering services that support data governance and auditability.
• Implement privacy-by-design patterns across products, data pipelines, and ML systems.
• Build APIs and developer tools to standardize privacy enforcement.
• Collaborate with Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, ML, and Infrastructure teams on technical specs.
• Support privacy reviews and data flow mappings for new products; assess technical risk.
• Improve reliability and observability of privacy systems through testing and documentation.

Skills

Python

Go

Java

Scala

C++

Rust

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering/Mathematics or related field

Job description

About the Role

Upstart’s Privacy Engineering team builds the systems, tools, and technical controls that help protect borrower, applicant, partner, and Upstarter data across our products and platforms. As a Privacy Engineer II at Upstart, you will build software and services that embed privacy controls into the core architecture of Upstart’s products and technical systems. You will help implement privacy‑enhancing technologies, data minimization patterns, and governance tooling that support responsible data use across Upstart’s AI lending marketplace.

How you’ll make an impact

• Design, build, and operate privacy engineering services that support user control, data governance, anonymization, pseudonymization, retention, deletion, and auditability
• Implement privacy‑by‑design patterns and data minimization controls across Upstart’s products, services, data pipelines, and machine learning systems
• Build APIs, libraries, services, and developer tools that help engineering teams standardize privacy enforcement across the technology stack
• Partner with Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, Machine Learning, and Infrastructure teams to translate privacy requirements into clear technical specifications
• Support privacy reviews, data flow assessments, and technical risk assessments for new products, data uses, and platform capabilities
• Improve the reliability, observability, and maintainability of privacy systems through testing, monitoring, documentation, and thoughtful technical design

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 3+ years of experience in software engineering
• Experience building and operating production software systems using programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Scala, C++, Rust, or similar languages
• Experience building APIs, microservices, libraries, or backend services that support data governance, privacy controls, security controls, or data platform capabilities
• Experience with at least two privacy or security domains such as anonymization, pseudonymization, data retention, deletion, data lineage, access control, encryption, audit logging, or data minimization
• Experience translating privacy, security, compliance, or data protection requirements into software systems or technical workflows

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of privacy‑by‑design principles, privacy‑enhancing technologies, purpose limitation, consent, retention, deletion, and data subject rights
• Experience with data governance systems, data catalogs, lineage tooling, personally identifiable information detection, redaction, or automated policy enforcement
• Experience supporting privacy reviews, threat modeling, data flow mapping, or technical risk assessments for production systems
• Experience working with machine learning systems, financial services, lending, or another regulated data environment
• Ability to communicate privacy engineering tradeoffs clearly across technical, legal, compliance, product, and business audiences

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 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.

Compensation & Benefits

Anticipated base salary for this position: $164,800 – $228,400 USD. In addition, Upstart provides target bonuses, equity compensation, and generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k).

Benefits include:

• Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
• Retirement benefits: 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 Employer

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.

Reasonable Accommodation

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].

Privacy Policy

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy