Head of Auto Collections

The Team

Upstart’s Auto Servicing team is seeking a Head of Auto Collections to lead operations across the full delinquency lifecycle — from early-stage delinquency through charge-off. This critical leadership role is responsible for building a high-performing team, ensuring operational excellence, and driving results through strategy, data, and technology — all while maintaining a compliant and customer-centric approach.

We’ve built a strong collections foundation through a blended servicing model that leverages cross-trained agents. We’re now looking for a seasoned leader and subject matter expert to elevate performance, strengthen processes, and shape the future of auto collections at Upstart.

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

Time Zone Requirements - This 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.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Set Strategy: Partner with the Director of Auto Servicing to define and evolve our auto collections strategy, balancing borrower experience with business outcomes.
• Elevate Performance: Develop frameworks and processes to maximize team performance and operational efficiency.
• Be Our Industry Expert: Evaluate and optimize vendors, tools, call flows, and contact strategies to support borrowers and reduce gross charge-offs.
• Drive Strategic Transformation: Prioritize and deliver initiatives that advance our collections capabilities, leveraging technology and data.
• Lead with Data: Analyze performance metrics, uncover insights, and lead continuous improvement efforts through dashboards and reporting.
• Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner with Product, Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Engineering to build systems, define product requirements, and launch operational tooling.
• Develop a High-Performing Team: Hire, mentor, and grow a resilient team while fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and ethical practices.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategy & Vision
  • Act as a visionary leader to anticipate future needs and guide the long-term evolution of Upstart’s auto collections function.
  • Design scalable, future-ready processes that support sustained portfolio growth and operational resilience.
  • Stay ahead of industry trends and ensure Upstart’s collections strategies remain competitive, compliant, and high-performing.
  • Benchmark performance against peers, identify gaps, and leverage technology and omnichannel strategies to improve loan performance.
  • Build metrics and dashboards that provide full transparency into portfolio health.
• Operations & Execution
  • Oversee daily collections operations, ensuring strong execution across all delinquency stages.
  • Develop operational processes and control reports that ensure a well-managed, efficient, and compliant operation.
  • Own the design of call flows and contact strategies that maximize customer engagement and repayment outcomes.
• Team Leadership & Development
  • Identify, hire, develop, and retain top talent in auto collections.
  • Build a self-driven, resilient team that thrives in ambiguity and fast past environments.
  • Invest in training, coaching, and career development to build leadership capacity at all levels.
• Compliance & Risk
  • Ensure all practices align with federal and state regulations, and company policy.
  • Proactively mitigate reputational, legal, and operational risk.

What we’re looking for: 

Minimum qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in consumer auto finance collections, including leadership responsibility across the delinquency lifecycle.
• 5+ years in a leadership role with a proven track record of developing and implementing successful collections strategies.
• Deep knowledge of auto collections, repossession processes, and regulatory requirements.
• Proven success in designing contact strategies, call flows, and operational processes that improve performance.
• Tech-forward and future-focused mindset, with experience leveraging automation and digital strategies in collections.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills; able to influence and execute through others.
• Agility: Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, rationalize trade-offs and prioritization, willingness to get creative to drive results.
• Big picture thinker: You understand how all stakeholders behave and perform, and are highly capable of combining different tools and methods to create an effective auto recovery strategy.
• Analytical adeptness: You are data-driven, analytical, detail-oriented and relentlessly use data to make decisions on strategy, constantly re-evaluating and updating strategy and needed to maximize effectiveness.
• Flexible amid change and ambiguity: You are excited and comfortable working in an early-stage, high-growth company with limited historical data. You learn quickly, work independently, think creatively, and adapt well to change. You are comfortable operating quickly and scrappily, and as well as other technical and non-technical audiences at Upstart.

Preferred qualifications:

• Curiosity: You are immensely curious about the root cause of issues, think critically from first principles, and never stop asking questions.
• Thought Partner: You’re open minded and thoughtful about new ideas, and can serve as a thought partner to the team.
• Strategic thinker with a builder’s mindset — you can zoom out and set vision or zoom in and fix what’s broken.
• Bachelor’s degree.

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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