About Upstart
Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload.
Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and New York City, NY (opening Summer 2026).
Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!
Upstart’s Security team is dedicated to advancing security practices that enhance the safety of our products, customers, and partners. We believe that security should empower innovation, move at the speed of business, and be designed for safety from the ground up. Our mission is to protect Upstart’s products & enterprise, and manage threats to Upstart. We achieve this through automation, strong collaboration with partner teams, and a commitment to maintain a positive experience for Upstarters.
As a Principal Security Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping Upstart’s security strategy for protecting our business. You will architect, design, and influence our security measures across many security controls and drive our roadmap forward. You will develop and implement security patterns to protect Upstart while enabling the business to move quickly. This role requires a well-rounded security practitioner who has deep experience in access management and data security, and who can partner across the organization with Business, Risk, and Engineering leaders to achieve large cross-functional goals.
How you’ll make an impact:
- Lead complex, high-impact security initiatives with cross-team dependencies across our products, services, infrastructure, and enterprise
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop and implement security patterns that protect our data and systems
- Provide mentorship, foster a strong security culture and promote security excellence
- Build systems and automated processes to ensure that the right data is in the right place, with only the right people having access to it
- Develop innovative processes that enhances both security and the user experience for key business processes
What we’re looking for:
Minimum requirements:
- Deep expertise across enterprise and operational security domains (e.g. Data Security, Endpoint Security, Detection Engineering, Identity & Access Management)
- Ability to software engineer solutions to complex problems with the assistance of GenAI
- Demonstrable track record as an influential security leader, driving security solutions across multiple stakeholder groups
- Experience with advanced threat modeling techniques and risk assessment
- Strong communication skills, capable of engaging senior leadership through clear, concise, and effective messaging (both written and verbal).
- Ability to promote innovative security solutions while independently navigating ambiguity to drive change.
- Significant experience in security leadership, open to strong individual contributors and people managers
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience as the primary stakeholder for Data Security and Data Loss Prevention
- Contributions to the security industry (e.g. industry presentations, white papers, OSS projects, patents)
- Familiarity with compliance frameworks, including SOC1, SOC2, and SOX
Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote, San Mateo, Columbus, Austin
Time Zone Requirements - This team operates across all U.S. time zones.
Travel Requirements - This team has regular on-site collaboration sessions. These occur 3 days per quarter at an Upstart office. If you need to travel to make these meetups, Upstart will cover all travel related expenses.
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
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).
Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to ensuring that underrepresented classes receive better access to affordable credit, and are just as committed to embracing diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices. We celebrate all cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and know that we can only become better together.
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
Top Skills
Similar Jobs at Upstart
What you need to know about the Charlotte Tech Scene
Key Facts About Charlotte Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 90,859; 6.5% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: Lowe’s, Bank of America, TIAA, Microsoft, Honeywell
- Key Industries: Fintech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, e-commerce
- Funding Landscape: $3.1 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (CED)
- Notable Investors: Microsoft, Google, Falfurrias Management Partners, RevTech Labs Foundation
- Research Centers and Universities: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Northeastern University, North Carolina Research Campus
