Principal Software Engineer

About Upstart 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 3,000 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, 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 Bank Technology team builds the internal platforms, security automation, and operational systems that enable Upstart Bank to operate securely, efficiently, and at scale. The team partners closely with stakeholders across risk, legal, compliance, security, and operations to create software solutions that support the bank's growth as a licensed financial institution.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will provide technical leadership across a growing portfolio of internal platforms and automation systems. You will drive architectural direction, solve complex technical challenges, and establish engineering patterns that enable the team to deliver secure, scalable, and maintainable solutions for the bank's most critical operational functions. How you'll make an impact - Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of internal platforms, security automation systems, and workflow tooling that support Upstart Bank operations. - Establish scalable engineering patterns, technical standards, and system designs that enable long-term platform growth and maintainability. - Partner with stakeholders across risk, compliance, legal, operations, and engineering to translate complex business requirements into durable software solutions. - Design and oversee relational data models, authorization systems, integrations, and platform services that support secure and reliable operations. - Identify and mitigate technical risks, making thoughtful decisions around system architecture, platform investments, and build-versus-buy tradeoffs. - Mentor engineers through technical leadership, architectural reviews, design documentation, and engineering best practices. - Drive technical strategy for internal platforms and automation initiatives as the bank expands its operational and regulatory capabilities. Minimum Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) and 8+ years of software engineering experience. - Experience designing, building, and operating large-scale production software systems and web applications. - Experience leading architecture and technical design for distributed systems, platform services, or internal software platforms. - Experience designing relational database schemas, APIs, integrations, authentication systems, and role-based access control frameworks.