Sr. Manager, Software Engineering - Machine Learning Simulations

Upstart; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 195,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual equity grants

401(k) with company match

ESPP

Comprehensive health coverage

Health savings account

Paid time off

Job summary

Upstart is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager for the Machine Learning Simulations Platform to lead a critical backend service that powers model training, pricing, and portfolio scenarios. You will guide a team of engineers, optimize performance, and collaborate with ML, pricing, analytics, and infra groups to scale responsibly.

You’ll drive reliability, cost efficiency, and cross-team alignment, shaping how simulations influence lending decisions while enabling broader usage across the

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years of engineering management experience.
• Experience leading engineering teams that build and operate backend platforms or distributed systems in production.
• Experience delivering platform or infrastructure programs that span multiple teams.
• Proficiency with Python, Kotlin, AWS, Kubernetes, Databricks, Spark.

Responsibilities

• Own the engineering roadmap for Upstart's marketplace simulation platform, and decide which teams and use cases it serves next.
• Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers across distributed services, offline data pipelines, and large-scale compute.
• Raise simulation reliability and accuracy to trusted levels for launch decisions, including automated drift checks.
• Reduce the cost of each simulation as usage grows through smarter architectures and compute choices.
• Extend simulation coverage across the lending funnel and into new loan products with partner teams.
• Turn recurring questions into self-serve simulation workflows for ML, analytics, and capital markets partners.

Skills

Python

Kotlin

AWS

Kubernetes

Databricks

Spark

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field

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.

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 (opening Summer 2026), 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 Machine Learning and Simulations Platform team builds and operates the infrastructure behind ML model training, features engineering, inference, and marketplace simulation. Our simulation platform answers one question before any change reaches a borrower: what would this new ML model, price, or fee have produced for real applicants? It replays historical data through production pricing logic in isolated environments, and it is now the shared tool every machine learning team at Upstart uses to size the impact of a launch. Our priorities are reliability teams can bet a launch on, fidelity to production we can prove, cost per simulation stays in check as usage grows, and coverage that extends across the lending funnel and into new loan products.

As the Senior Engineering Manager, Machine Learning Simulations at Upstart, you will lead the team that owns this platform. Today machine learning teams run roughly a thousand simulations a month on it. Your job is to make it production-grade, cut its cost while usage doubles, and open it to Analytics and Finance teams who need the same answers about pricing and portfolio strategy. You will work across machine learning, pricing, product, analytics, and infrastructure teams, many of whom own the logic your platform has to reproduce faithfully.

How you’ll make an impact

• Own the engineering roadmap for Upstart's marketplace simulation platform, and decide which teams and use cases it serves next
• Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers working across distributed services, offline data pipelines, and large-scale compute
• Raise simulation reliability and accuracy to a level teams trust for launch decisions, including automated checks that detect drift between simulated and production results
• Reduce the cost of each simulation as usage grows, through smart architecture and compute choices
• Extend simulation coverage across the lending funnel and into new loan products, partnering with the teams who own each stage of pricing and decisioning logic
• Turn recurring questions from machine learning, analytics, and capital markets partners into self-serve simulation workflows

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 8+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years of engineering management experience
• Experience leading engineering teams that build and operate backend platforms or distributed systems in production
• Experience delivering platform or infrastructure programs that span multiple teams
• Proficiency with some or many of the following: Python, Kotlin, AWS, Kubernetes, Databricks, Spark

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of simulation, backtesting, experimentation, or offline model evaluation systems
• Experience supporting machine learning teams or operating MLOps infrastructure, including model inference, workflow orchestration, and offline feature pipelines
• Knowledge of lending, pricing, credit risk, or marketplace economics
• Ability to treat compute cost and efficiency as an engineering goal alongside reliability
• Ability to build shared platforms where partner teams own part of the logic, and to keep those interfaces steady as systems evolve
• Experience developing senior engineers and emerging engineering leaders

Position location

This role is available in the following locations: Remote

At Upstart, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the below range. Your actual base pay will depend on your geographic location–with our “digital first” philosophy, Upstart uses compensation regions that vary depending on location. Individual pay is also determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

In addition, Upstart provides employees with target bonuses, equity compensation, and generous benefits packages (including medical, dental, vision, and 401k).

United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range

$195,300—$270,400 USD

Time zone requirements

The team operates on the East/West coast 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.

What you'll love

At Upstart, our benefits are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:

• Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
• Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 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.

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.

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]