Senior Software Engineer, AI Platform
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Job Location:
San Mateo, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
30+ days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
About Upstart
Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstarts 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 wed love to hear from you!
The Team
Upstarts new Core GenAI Platform team is building foundational infrastructure that democratizes access to generative AI/LLMs for every product and engineering team across the company.
As aSenior Software Engineer on Upstarts Core GenAI Platform team you will help design and build a unified interface for securely interacting with large language models - abstracting away the complexity of model selection prompt orchestration evaluation and scaling. Youll help build a centralized GenAI layer that enables engineers to use best-in-class LLMs through clean APIs configurable pipelines and intuitive tooling.
Reporting to the VP of the Area the team operates with broad scope and high visibility partnering across Machine Learning Product and Compliance to ensure every model integration is performant secure and compliant. Whether its embedding LLMs in user-facing products or optimizing backend workflows this team makes it seamless for Upstart Engineering to adopt and scale GenAI company-wide.
How youll make an impact:
- Build the Core GenAI platform powering generative AI use cases across all of Upstart Engineering.
- Design and implement reliable observable infrastructure for model inference prompt orchestration and data workflows.
- Drive cross-functional adoption of AI tooling by delivering reusable components and intuitive developer productivity through automation metrics dashboards and streamlined GenAI integrations.
- Set the technical roadmap for platform capabilities balancing innovation with reliability and compliance.
- Partner with ML researchers product engineers and design to bridge experimentation and production.
- Ensure the platform adheres to emerging standards of security fairness and explainability for LLM systems.
What were looking for:
- Minimum requirements:
- 6 years of experience in object-oriented software engineering with a strong systems engineering background
- Proven experience independently leading impactful cross-functional multi-quarter projects with mid-large teams
- Proficiency in backend development with Python (leveraging frameworks like FastAPI Flask or similar) microservices architecture and infrastructure tools like Kubernetes Docker and Terraform
- Hands-on experience building ML platforms or infrastructure supporting LLMs or inference systems
- Familiarity with observability tools (e.g. Prometheus Grafana Datadog) and data processing pipelines
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and a collaborative approach to cross-functional work
- Strong stakeholder management skills
- Preferred qualifications:
- Full Stack development skills including hands on experience with React or similar
- Proficiency with Kotlin or Java and the Spring framework ecosystem
- Experience with LLM toolchains such as LangChain LlamaIndex or OpenAI APIs
- Deep understanding of model inference optimization (e.g. quantization ONNX streaming)
- Exposure to retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) vector databases (e.g. FAISS Pinecone) or prompt engineering
- Experience operationalizing LLMs in production including latency management and prompt versioning
- Ability to influence platform direction and drive alignment across multiple engineering teams
- Awareness of LLM-specific risk domains including hallucinations fairness and data privacy
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 youll 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 $4500 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
#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 locationwith 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. 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
Senior IC
Key Skills
- Spring
- .NET
- C/C++
- Go
- React
- OOP
- C#
- AWS
- Data Structures
- Software Development
- Java
- Distributed Systems
About Company
Through Upstart, apply online for a fast personal loan, auto refinancing, or debt consolidation. Try our quick rate check today with no impact to your credit!
