Senior Software Engineer, Unsecured Installments

Upstart; Columbus, Austin, New York, San Francisco (OH, TX, NY, CA); Hybride; USD 150 000 - 190 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Upstart, the leading AI lending marketplace, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Unsecured Installments team. You will shape backend and full-stack experiences, primarily in React/TypeScript on frontend but focused on robust backend delivery that powers borrower journeys.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with product and design, and drive multi-month projects while advancing architecture, reliability, and security across lending workflows.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Backend services and API design in one of Python, Java, Kotlin, Go, Ruby, or Node.js.
• Experience with data modeling and distributed systems.
• Proven track record leading large backend or full-stack projects in production.

Responsabilités

• Design and deliver large, backend and full-stack initiatives from planning to maintenance.
• Set technical direction for service architecture, APIs, data models and system integrations.
• Collaborate with product, frontend, design and backend engineers to translate roadmap priorities into scalable systems.
• Raise the bar for engineering excellence through testing, observability and security.
• Lead through ambiguity by turning problems into clear, testable plans with data-informed tradeoffs.
• Mentor engineers through code/design reviews and cross-team collaboration.
• Contribute to AI usage in development workflows and product capabilities.

Connaissances

Backend architecture

API design

Data modeling

Distributed systems

Leadership

Communication

Formation

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Outils

Python

Java

Go

Kotlin

Node.js

Databases (SQL/NoSQL)

Description du poste

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 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, 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:

Unsecured Installments is one of Upstart's core lending products, helping borrowers access credit through a seamless, digitally native experience. The team owns critical parts of the borrower journey across offer generation, pricing, underwriting, funding, and borrower experience, while working closely with the broader lending platform that powers Upstart at scale. Recent work has focused on improving borrower flows, repricing and rate flexibility, partnership experiences, and the overall quality of the customer-facing experience.

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Unsecured Installments team, you'll be a technical leader for the frontend and full-stack experiences that borrowers interact with directly. Working primarily in React and TypeScript, you'll own the delivery of large, multi-month projects, shape the architecture of the team's mobile-web and full-stack surfaces, and set a high bar for quality across the borrower experience. You'll partner closely with product, design, and backend engineers to turn ambiguous problems into durable, well-architected solutions, and you'll mentor other engineers along the way.

How you'll make an impact

• Own the design and delivery of large, complex backend and full-stack initiatives, from planning and sequencing through launch and long-term maintenance.
• Set technical direction for the team's service architecture, APIs, data models, and system integrations, owning a 3-6 month roadmap and proactively addressing systemic gaps that threaten reliability or team effectiveness.
• Partner closely with product, frontend, design, platform, and other backend engineers to translate roadmap priorities and borrower needs into scalable, high-quality systems.
• Raise the bar for engineering excellence through thoughtful service and API design, data integrity, testing, observability, security, and operational rigor across business-critical lending workflows.
• Lead through ambiguity by breaking down loosely defined problems into clear, testable plans and using data to inform tradeoffs involving scope, scalability, performance, reliability, and customer experience.
• Mentor and grow other engineers through code reviews, design reviews, and technical guidance, and serve as a trusted collaborator across the team.
• Contribute to how the team uses AI in development workflows and product capabilities, with a pragmatic view of where it can create meaningful leverage.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 6+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Deep proficiency designing and building backend services and APIs in a language such as Python, Java, Kotlin, Go, Ruby, or Node.js.
• Strong experience with service architecture, API design, data modeling, relational or non-relational databases, and distributed systems.
• Track record of independently leading the design and delivery of large, business-critical backend or full-stack projects in production.
• Experience building reliable production systems, including testing, monitoring, incident response, performance optimization, and long-term operational ownership.
• Ability to work effectively in ambiguous environments where product requirements, constraints, and system boundaries evolve over time.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain technical tradeoffs and align product and engineering partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience serving as the backend or full-stack technical lead for a product team or business-critical system.
• Experience building consumer-facing products or high-volume transactional systems with strong requirements around reliability, scalability, correctness, and security.
• Background in fintech, lending, payments, or