Principal Software Engineer, Pricing

Role Description

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will drive technical excellence and innovation within the Core Pricing team, focusing on Personal and Unsecured Loans, one of Upstart’s primary revenue drivers. You will set the technical vision and direction for the team, working backward from our product strategy. You will lead efforts to deliver software that uses machine learning to optimize pricing and continuously improve the efficiency of our borrower-lender marketplace.

You will have the opportunity to design and build large-scale systems, partner closely with machine learning scientists, and work in a highly collaborative, fast-paced environment. We are looking for a seasoned technical leader with a passion for machine learning, finance, experimentation, and distributed systems.

How you’ll make an impact

• Define the long-term technical direction and roadmap for Pricing in alignment with Upstart’s business objectives.
• Lead the design and development of a system that continuously optimizes the matching of supply and demand for Upstart’s borrower-lender marketplace.
• Work closely with ML scientists to improve and develop new models that improve core business metrics.
• Guide the architectural evolution of Pricing engineering systems with an emphasis on scaling innovation across multiple engineering teams.
• Uncover and drive alignment across complex technical requirements, designs, trade-offs, influencing product direction.
• Proactively evaluate, prototype, and roll out new technologies/frameworks to help cultivate a culture of innovation.
• Lead from the front, while mentoring and developing technical leaders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) + 8 years of experience.
• Experience building highly scalable systems using containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience building flexible, extensible and consistent APIs.
• Solid grasp of software development principles and best practices for creating scalable, extensible, and maintainable systems.
• Proficiency in one or more object-oriented programming languages like Python, Java, C#, C++.
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain complex business and technical concepts to all audiences.
• Track record of successfully mentoring and developing technical leaders.
• Experience working in dynamic fast-paced organizations.
• Ability to balance the needs of the business with the needs of engineering improvements.
• Passion for clean code and architecture and initiative to “level-up” the engineering team with better practices & design.
• Able to lead and resolve company-wide technical discussions and collaborate with cross-functional teams (security, devops, data, compliance, and product).
• Good sense for build-vs-buy and able to prioritize the highest ROI architectural investments.

Preferred Qualifications

• High proficiency with Python.
• Experience with A/B testing, GRPC, and Kafka.
• Experience working in Fintech, Pricing, Ads, or ML.
• Background in statistics, mathematics, or econometrics is a big plus.
• Experience designing and building microservice-based architectures.
• Experience developing large scale distributed systems in AWS.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability for the quality and timely delivery of work.
• Ability to thrive both in self-directed work environments and in collaborative settings, contributing positively to team dynamics.
• Demonstrated ability to take feedback well and actively incorporate it into work with a desire to continuously improve.
• Ability to influence and lead without direct authority.
• Strong product and analytical mindset that allows you to think in terms of ROI, risk, and trade-offs.
• Experience working at companies that have gone through periods of rapid business or organizational growth.

Position location

This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Travel requirements

As a digital-first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live and work anywhere in the U.S but are encouraged to still spend high-quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites. The in-person sessions’ cadence varies depending on the team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days at a time.

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!).