Senior Privacy Engineer

Role Description

As a Privacy Engineer II at Upstart, you will build software and services that embed privacy controls into the core architecture of Upstart’s products and technical systems. You will help implement privacy-enhancing technologies, data minimization patterns, and governance tooling that support responsible data use across Upstart’s AI lending marketplace.

• Design, build, and operate privacy engineering services that support user control, data governance, anonymization, pseudonymization, retention, deletion, and auditability.
• Implement privacy-by-design patterns and data minimization controls across Upstart’s products, services, data pipelines, and machine learning systems.
• Build APIs, libraries, services, and developer tools that help engineering teams standardize privacy enforcement across the technology stack.
• Partner with Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, Machine Learning, and Infrastructure teams to translate privacy requirements into clear technical specifications.
• Support privacy reviews, data flow assessments, and technical risk assessments for new products, data uses, and platform capabilities.
• Improve the reliability, observability, and maintainability of privacy systems through testing, monitoring, documentation, and thoughtful technical design.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 3+ years of experience in software engineering.
• Experience building and operating production software systems using programming languages such as Python, Go, Java, Scala, C++, Rust, or similar languages.
• Experience building APIs, microservices, libraries, or backend services that support data governance, privacy controls, security controls, or data platform capabilities.
• Experience with at least two privacy or security domains such as anonymization, pseudonymization, data retention, deletion, data lineage, access control, encryption, audit logging, or data minimization.
• Experience translating privacy, security, compliance, or data protection requirements into software systems or technical workflows.

Requirements

• Knowledge of privacy-by-design principles, privacy-enhancing technologies, purpose limitation, consent, retention, deletion, and data subject rights.
• Experience with data governance systems, data catalogs, lineage tooling, personally identifiable information detection, redaction, or automated policy enforcement.
• Experience supporting privacy reviews, threat modeling, data flow mapping, or technical risk assessments for production systems.
• Experience working with machine learning systems, financial services, lending, or another regulated data environment.
• Ability to communicate privacy engineering tradeoffs clearly across technical, legal, compliance, product, and business audiences.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly.
• Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually (USD in the US, CAD in Canada).
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only).
• Comprehensive health coverage designed to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
• Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only).
• Income protection benefits, including life insurance and disability coverage for added financial security.
• Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements.
• Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments (duration varies by country).
• Family-centered benefits to support fertility, parenthood, and caregiving needs.
• 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 (US Only).
• 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, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs).
• Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!).