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 1,800 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
As a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Upstart, you will collaborate closely with our Research Scientists, Data Scientists, and other engineering teams to increase ML productivity through better software and infrastructure, improving how we research, train, deploy, serve, and monitor our models. You’ll help reduce the time it takes to go from idea to production, enabling us to quickly test and iterate on new approaches so we can more effectively deliver on our mission of expanding access to credit. In addition, you’ll design and implement code and algorithms that directly improve our models’ predictive power.
How you’ll make an impact
- You will set engineering & coding standards for the team and set technical direction to identify investments necessary drive model quality, system reliability, and iteration velocity
- Build repeatable workflows and automation that enables scientists to spend more time on high leverage tasks (methodology, writing, analysis) and less on keeping the lights on or getting things to run
- Discover and develop a short and long-term roadmap of engineering improvements Explore new algorithms and methodologies for our machine learning models
- Interface cross-functionally with other engineering teams (data engineering, machine learning platform, pricing, and growth software engineering), to provide feedback and requirements, so that we can build high-quality systems end-to-end
Basic Qualifications
- Advanced degree (MS, PhD, or equivalent experience) in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- 4+ years of industry experience as a Machine Learning Engineer or Research Scientist with a strong focus on implementation and tooling
- Proficiency in multiple object-oriented programming languages (e.g. Python, C++)
- Experience building and productionizing innovative end-to-end Machine Learning systems
- Experience in exploratory data analysis, statistical modeling, hypothesis testing, and experimental design
- Experience working with cross-functional teams(product, science, product ops etc)
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Statistics, or other related quantitative fields or related field
- Publications at industry recognized ML conferences
- Experience in modern deep learning architectures and probabilistic modeling
- Experience with optimization techniques, including reinforcement learning (RL), Bayesian methods, causal ML meta learners and genAI LLM
- Experience with CI/CD, data validation, and automation tools (e.g. metaflow)
- Expertise in the design and architecture of ML systems and workflows
The Teams:
Personal Loans, Underwriting:
This team is focused on leveraging machine learning to power Upstart’s underwriting models. This team is responsible for building the underwriting model which determines credit decisioning at Upstart. This model plays a central role in Upstart’s overall performance as a company and includes numerous challenging problems to solve.
Growth Team:
Upstart’s Growth Team engages in marketing and borrower acquisition through direct mail (DM) campaigns and targeted loan offers on partner sites, leveraging machine learning to drive growth. The Growth ML team develops models to optimize borrower targeting, predict conversion probabilities, and refine pricing strategies across these channels. Our team has an outsized impact on Upstart’s success; the majority of the loans we originate can be directly attributed to the growth team’s efforts. The Growth ML organization is currently growing rapidly and expanding our scope into new problem spaces.
Partnerships Team:
The ML Partnerships team is focused on expanding and scaling Upstart’s competitive rate offerings on partner sites. This team leverages machine learning to optimize the rates and offers shown to customers with the goal of maximizing conversions to Upstart. As the largest channel, Partnerships has an outsized impact on Upstart’s success, and we work closely with cross functional product, engineering, and partner teams to continue driving growth across our platform(s).
Position location: This role is available in the following locations: Remote
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.
#LI-REMOTE
#LI-MidSenior
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).
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
- Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees
- Affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, with multiple plan options - Upstart covers 90% to 100% of the cost depending on the plans you choose
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans
- Income protection benefits, including company-paid Basic Life, AD&D, and Short- and Long-Term Disability coverage, with options to purchase supplemental coverage
- Paid time off, sick and safe time, and company holidays
- Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments
- Family-centered benefits through Carrot and Cleo, supporting fertility, parenthood, and caregiving
- 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
- 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 and onsites, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our four offices, located in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!).
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 [email protected]
https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy
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