Senior Software Engineer, Pricing

About the role

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

Upstart's Core Pricing team drives key initiatives that directly influence Upstart's revenue streams and product strategies. This includes developing the common systems used to calculate risk and profitability for each loan we originate, as well as providing a top-notch borrower experience by supporting our product development teams. You will be joining a dynamic, cross-functional team that works closely with data scientists, product managers, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable, high-impact solutions.

As a Senior Software Engineer on Core Pricing, you'll play a critical role in evolving the systems that power Upstart's loan pricing across multiple product lines. You'll design and implement highly scalable, low-latency services that convert ML underwriting outputs into accurate risk and profitability measures, while helping define the future of Upstart's pricing platform.

What you'll do

Lead the design and development of scalable, high-performance services that enable real-time pricing decisions across multiple products. Collaborate with data scientists and product managers to translate business goals into robust technical solutions. Drive architectural improvements in the pricing platform to support rapid growth, new products, and evolving modeling needs. Mentor and coach engineers across the team, elevating best practices in system design, testing, and operational excellence. Ensure the quality and reliability of our pricing engines through comprehensive testing, code reviews, and production monitoring. Champion improvements in developer experience, automation, and observability to increase team velocity and platform resilience. Implement services that convert ML underwriting outputs into accurate risk and profitability measures for multiple product lines. Partner with stakeholders to prioritize features and deliver solutions that meet strict requirements for performance and accuracy. Contribute to the evolution of Upstart's pricing platform strategy and technical roadmap. Participate in oncall rotations to support production services and respond to critical issues. Write clean, maintainable code that adheres to industry best practices and security standards. Work effectively in a fast-paced, agile environment while managing competing priorities and deadlines. Communicate progress, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to technical and non-technical audiences. Engage in continuous learning to stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends.

Requirements

5+ years of professional software development experience building scalable public or consumer-facing products. High level of proficiency coding in production with Python, and some experience with Java or Kotlin or similar. Proven ability to independently own and deliver complex, multi-month engineering projects in fast-paced environments. Strong understanding of computer science fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems. Experience designing, building, and operating reliable, scalable backend services. Comfortable working with large datasets and writing complex queries to extract insights. Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams including data scientists, product managers, and business stakeholders. Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice to have

Experience with machine learning model deployment and MLOps practices. Familiarity with financial services, credit, or lending products. Contributions to open source or public-facing projects. Experience with cloud platforms and infrastructure as code.

Practical notes

This is a full-time position located in the United States with remote flexibility. Team onsites, planning sessions, and in-person collaboration opportunities are part of the work rhythm. Work is optimized for digital-first flexibility with the option to work primarily from home or from one of the Upstart offices in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, or New York City (opening Summer 2026).