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 1,800 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 (opening Summer 2026), 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
The Data Engineering team (Part of Upstart's core platform vertical) provides developer tools, frameworks, and scalable data infrastructure as shared services across Upstart. The team's primary objective is to provide Data Analysts, Software Engineers, and ML scientists access to high-quality data and developer tools to create business metrics for respective product verticals,
You will join the subdivision focusing on Data Capture.
As the Data Platform Engineer joining this team, you will get the opportunity to contribute to 3 areas:
- Expand the Developer tools that capture business events, operational data and third party data into the Lakehouse.
- Expand the self-serve and orchestration framework that developers use to build pipelines.
- Improve the observability and SLAs for the above services and raw layer data in the Lakehouse.
We would love to hear from you if you are passionate about building data products!
Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote
Time Zone Requirements - This team operates on the East/West Coast time zones.
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 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.
How you’ll make an impact
- Build and Improve the tools owned by the Capture team
- Own the service/raw layer data observability and SLAs
- Participate in planning and prioritization by collaborating with stakeholders across the various product verticals and functions (ML, Analytics, Finance) to ensure our architecture aligns with the overall business objectives.
- Collaborate with stakeholders such as Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Machine Learning Platform and Analytics teams to ingest data into the Lakehouse and adopt the developer tools
- Participate in code reviews and architecture discussions to exchange actionable feedback with peers.
- Contribute to engineering best practices and mentor junior team members.
- Help break down complex projects and requirements into sprints.
- Continuously monitor and improve data platform performance, reliability, and security.
- Stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and industry best practices in data engineering.
Minimum Qualifications
- A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- 3+ years of experience in data engineering or related fields, with a strong focus on data quality, governance, and data infrastructure.
- Proficiency in data engineering tech stack; Databricks / PostgreSQL / Python / Spark / Kafka/ Streaming / SQL / AWS / Airflow/ Airbyte/ Fivetran / DBT / EKS/ containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes) and others.
- Ability to approach problems with first principles thinking, embrace ambiguity, and enjoy collaborative work on complex solutions.
Preferred Qualifications
- Strong foundation in algorithms and data structures and their real-world use cases.
- Experience and understanding of distributed systems, data architecture design, and big data technologies (e.g., Spark Streaming / Batch, Kafka Streaming, Lakehouse, Databricks, Redshift, Airbyte, Fivetran, EKS).
- Experience with AWS technologies ( e.g., AWS RDS, S3, Redshift, IAM etc.).
- Knowledge of data ingestion, software engineering and data security best practices.
- Good knowledge of DevOps engineering using Continuous Integration/Delivery tools like Kubernetes, Jenkins, Terraform, etc., thinking about automation, alerting, monitoring, security, and other declarative infrastructure.
- Ability to explain complex concepts in easy-to-understand ways and navigate environments where problems are not well-defined (and evolve quickly).
#LI-REMOTE
#LI-Associate
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 location–with 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).
What you'll love
At Upstart, our benefits are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:
- Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
- Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees
- Affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, with multiple plan options - Upstart covers 90% to 100% of the cost depending on the plans you choose
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans
- Income protection benefits, including company-paid Basic Life, AD&D, and Short- and Long-Term Disability coverage, with options to purchase supplemental coverage
- Paid time off, sick and safe time, and company holidays
- Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments
- Family-centered benefits through Carrot and Cleo, supporting fertility, parenthood, and caregiving
- 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
- 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 and onsites, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our four offices, located in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!).
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 [email protected]
https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy
Top Skills
Upstart Austin, Texas, USA Office
Upstart's office in Austin overlooks a waterfront park, Auditorium Shores, in the trendy Bouldin Creek neighborhood. With views of the Austin skyline, the office serves as a hub for our sales teams. The workspace is also available to ATX Upstarters seeking an in-office experience.
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