Senior Technical Program Manager

Upstart; United States; Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work location

In-person planning sessions

Job summary

Upstart is seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager for its Auto Retail team. You will own program planning, execution and outcomes for complex, high-impact Auto Retail initiatives.

You will turn ambiguous, multi-stakeholder work into clear plans, drive decisions, manage dependencies and risks, and help teams deliver reliably with quality. You will partner with Product Managers and Engineering Managers to shape strategy and execution, evaluating architecture and data movement, identifying

Qualifications

• Experience owning complex, cross-functional software initiatives.
• Ability to translate ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problems into executable plans with milestones, dependencies, risks and clear ownership.
• Experience working with product managers and engineering managers and their teams to drive delivery.
• Technical fluency in software architecture and data models.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex, cross-functional software initiatives from alignment through delivery, coordinating across multiple teams.
• Translate ambiguous problems into actionable plans with milestones, dependencies, risks, decision points, and owners.
• Partner with Product Managers on business strategy and prioritization, and with Engineering Managers on execution plans.
• Engage in technical discussions by evaluating software architecture, data models, pipelines, and trade-offs.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Program management

Technical fluency

Product collaboration

Stakeholder management

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.

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

Upstart’s Auto Retail team is bringing Upstart’s AI-powered underwriting combined with best-in-class software to help all Americans get better access, lower rates and a better process when purchasing a vehicle. Auto lending represents over $600B in annual volume across over 70K dealerships and is used by almost every household in the country yet has record low process satisfaction, transparency, and credit access. We aim to change that. The team partners across Product, Engineering, Analytics, Machine Learning, Servicing, Fraud, dealer-facing functions and more to improve the experience for lenders, dealers, and consumers.

As a Senior Technical Program Manager, you will own program planning, execution and outcomes for complex, high-impact Auto Retail initiatives. You will turn ambiguous, multi-stakeholder work into clear plans, drive decisions, manage dependencies and risks, and help teams deliver reliably and with quality. You will partner with Product Managers, who own product strategy and priorities, and Engineering Managers and engineers, who own technical design and implementation. Your leverage will come from technical judgment, cross-functional leadership, bringing clarity from ambiguity, and the practical execution systems you build.

You’ll help accelerate the quality, speed, and adoption of the software and features we build by:

• Surfacing operational signals and customer pain points
• Analyzing problems and opportunities and developing clear, stack-ranked recommendations
• Driving PM-prioritized initiatives from technical planning through launch and rollout
• Establishing continuous feedback loops by monitoring post-launch results and identifying opportunities for iteration and improvement

How You’ll Make An Impact

• Lead complex, cross-functional software initiatives from alignment through delivery, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Servicing, Analytics, Machine Learning, Fraud, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and dealer-facing partners.
• Translate ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problem spaces into actionable plans with clear milestones, dependencies, risks, decision points, and owners.
• Partner with Product Managers on business strategy and prioritization, and with Engineering Managers and engineering teams on technical approaches and execution plans.
• Engage meaningfully in technical discussions by evaluating software architecture, data models, data movement, data pipelines, and trade-offs among potential approaches.
• Identify blockers, clarify ambiguous ownership, surface downstream impacts early, and help teams resolve issues before they create delivery risk.
• Establish practical, lightweight ways of working that improve coordination and visibility across teams without creating unnecessary reporting or process overhead.

Minimum Qualifications

• Professional experience in a Technical Program Management role, including ownership of complex, cross-functional software initiatives.
• Experience translating ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problems into executable plans with milestones, dependencies, risks, and clear ownership.
• Experience working in a TPM or similar role directly with product managers and engineering managers and their teams with a clear understanding of ownership, roles, and responsibilities.
• Technical fluency in software architecture, data models, third party