Software Engineer, Foundations

Role Description

As a Software Engineer, Foundations at Upstart, you will help scale and extend backend data systems that enable high-quality, reliable marketing data workflows. You will partner closely with engineering, product, and marketing stakeholders to improve data availability, maintainability, and observability while supporting business-critical marketing operations.

• Build and maintain scalable backend systems and data pipelines that support audience segmentation and marketing attribution workflows.
• Partner with product managers, marketers, and engineers to deliver data solutions that support customer acquisition and conversion goals.
• Extend existing data infrastructure to support increasing data volumes, evolving business requirements, and new integrations.
• Contribute to data quality initiatives by implementing monitoring, validation, and guardrail mechanisms across critical datasets.
• Participate in technical discussions around architecture, access patterns, and platform scalability to support long-term platform growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) plus 3 years of software engineering experience.
• 3+ years of experience building and maintaining backend distributed systems or large-scale data platforms.
• Experience working with data processing systems, databases, or data pipelines in production environments.
• Experience implementing fault tolerance, monitoring, and observability practices for backend systems.
• Experience collaborating cross-functionally with engineering, product, or business stakeholders to deliver technical solutions.

Requirements

• Knowledge of data modeling and schema design best practices for large-scale data systems.
• Experience supporting marketing technology, attribution, or customer segmentation platforms.
• Familiarity with data governance, privacy, and PII security considerations.
• Ability to balance short-term feature delivery with long-term platform maintainability and scalability.
• Experience contributing to architectural discussions and improving engineering best practices across teams.

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!).