Principal Software Engineer, New Product
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Job Location:
San Mateo, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
12 hours 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:
Were a small senior engineering team at Upstart focused on launching a new product that aims to expand access to responsible and affordable credit. Operating like a startup within the company we move quickly and work autonomously. With a greenfield codebase and an AI-native development approach were not just building a productwere redefining how lean high-impact engineering teams work.
How youll make an impact
Set technical direction and lead architectural design for core backend systems that power a new consumer credit product.
Build distributed event-driven services that are reliable observable and scalabledesigned for long-term evolution.
Drive zero-to-one product development in collaboration with cross-functional partners translating ambiguous product goals into high-impact solutions.
Champion engineering velocity and quality by shaping patterns practices and tooling across the stack.
Lead with an AI-native mindsetleveraging and integrating AI tools to improve development workflows reduce friction and accelerate impact.
Serve as a technical mentor and thought leader within a high-performing fast-moving team.
Influence product direction through technical insights customer empathy and an ability to balance tradeoffs between speed scale and quality.
Minimum Qualifications
8 years of experience designing and building backend systems in production with a focus on consumer-scale applications.
Deep expertise in distributed systems and event-driven architectures (Kafka Kinesis SQS etc.) including experience with idempotency retries and fault tolerance.
Strong command of an object-oriented programming language (e.g. Java Kotlin C# Python Ruby) along with experience working with APIs databases and caching systems.
Proven success leading complex zero-to-one product development in ambiguous or fast-changing environments.
Demonstrated ability to influence product strategy through technical leadership and user-centric thinking.
Track record of building with observability and operational excellence in mind (metrics logs traces alerting etc.).
Active use of AI tools in engineering with a forward-looking perspective on how AI is reshaping software development.
Exceptional communication and collaboration skills; able to align teams and advocate for high-impact solutions across functions.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience leading technical initiatives at B2C fintech or high-scale consumer technology companies.
Background in payments credit or transactional systems with high reliability and regulatory requirements.
Familiarity with schema management and safe data migrations (e.g. Protobuf Avro) in distributed systems.
History of setting architectural direction and influencing engineering culture in high-growth environments.
Entrepreneurial mindsetcomfortable wearing multiple hats operating autonomously and navigating early-stage product phases.
Passion for building products that expand access and improve outcomes for underserved users.
Demonstrated interest in agentic or AI-assisted systems and enthusiasm for shaping the future of AI-native software development.
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
- Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed up to $15000 per year
- 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 --> use for L5 L6
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
Staff IC
Key Skills
- Continuous Integration
- Docker
- Jenkins
- Python
- System Design
- Agile
- C/C++
- Go
- Systems Engineering
- 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!
