Senior Software Engineer at Upstart - Remote US — Columbus
Traveler-Friendly Insight
Remote-First with Quarterly Onsite Commitments
Upstart is explicitly digital-first and allows employees to live and work anywhere in the US (or Canada, excluding Quebec). This is a strong setup for domestic nomads — you can base yourself in lower cost-of-living cities while drawing a top-tier salary. However, this is not a fully location-independent role: you'll be expected to attend in-person team onsites 1–2 times per quarter, typically for 2–4 consecutive days. Plan your travel schedule around these windows.
Timezone & Async Flexibility
No explicit timezone requirement is listed, which is a good sign. That said, the collaborative nature of the role (cross-functional product, design, and engineering partnerships) implies you'll need significant overlap with US business hours — likely PT or ET core hours. Pure async working across dramatically different timezones would be challenging.
Salary vs. Nomad Cost of Living
- Lisbon, Portugal: A comfortable monthly budget runs ~$2,500–$3,500. At $166K–$224K USD annually, you'd have significant surplus — but Upstart requires US/Canada residency, so this destination works only for vacation, not for remote-from-abroad arrangements.
- Austin, TX or Columbus, OH (US nomad hubs): Both are considerably more affordable than SF or NYC, and Upstart has offices there — making them ideal bases if you want optional in-office access.
Perks Relevant to Remote Workers
- Annual productivity allowance to fund your home office or coworking setup
- Annual wellness allowance for personal development
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.
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. We're intentional about in-person connection through team onsites, planning sessions, and moments that spark creativity and trust. Offices are located in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, and New York City (opening Summer 2026).
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
Unsecured Installments is one of Upstart's core lending products, helping borrowers access credit through a seamless, digitally native experience. The team owns critical parts of the borrower journey across offer generation, pricing, underwriting, funding, and borrower experience, while working closely with the broader lending platform that powers Upstart at scale. Recent work has focused on improving borrower flows, repricing and rate flexibility, partnership experiences, and the overall quality of the customer-facing experience.
As a Senior Software Engineer on the Unsecured Installments team, you'll be a technical leader for the frontend and full-stack experiences that borrowers interact with directly. Working primarily in React and TypeScript, you'll own the delivery of large, multi-month projects, shape the architecture of the team's mobile-web and full-stack surfaces, and set a high bar for quality across the borrower experience. You'll partner closely with product, design, and backend engineers to turn ambiguous problems into durable, well-architected solutions, and you'll mentor other engineers along the way.
How You'll Make an Impact
- Own the design and delivery of large, complex frontend and full-stack initiatives using React and TypeScript, from planning and sequencing through launch and long-term maintenance.
- Set technical direction for the team's frontend architecture and full-stack patterns, owning a 3–6 month roadmap and proactively addressing systemic gaps that threaten team effectiveness.
- Partner closely with product, design, and backend engineers to translate roadmap priorities and borrower needs into scalable, high-quality experiences.
- Raise the bar for engineering excellence through strong component and API design, thoughtful state management, testing, observability, and operational rigor across borrower-facing surfaces.
- Lead through ambiguity, breaking down loosely defined problems into clear, testable plans and using data to inform tradeoffs on scope, performance, and user experience.
- Mentor and grow other engineers through code reviews, design reviews, and technical guidance, and serve as a trusted collaborator across the team.
- Contribute to how the team uses AI in development workflows and product capabilities, with a pragmatic view of where it can create meaningful leverage.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) and 6+ years of professional software engineering experience.
- Deep proficiency building complex web applications with React and TypeScript, including component architecture, state management, performance optimization, and consuming REST or GraphQL APIs.
- Full-stack experience designing and building backend services and APIs in a language such as Python, Java, Kotlin, Ruby, or Node.js.
- Track record of independently leading the design and delivery of large, business-critical frontend or full-stack projects in production.
- Ability to work effectively in ambiguous environments where product requirements, constraints, and system boundaries evolve over time.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to explain technical tradeoffs and align product, design, and engineering partners.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience serving as the frontend or full-stack technical lead for a product team or business-critical product surface.
- Experience building consumer-facing products at scale with strong attention to performance, accessibility, and user experience.
- Background in fintech, lending, payments, or other regulated financial products with complex user journeys and high quality expectations.
- Experience with experimentation, A/B testing, or feature-flagging to drive iterative product improvements in production.
- Familiarity with modern frontend tooling and testing frameworks (e.g., Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress) and CI/CD workflows.
- Hands-on experience leveraging generative AI in product features or internal engineering workflows.
- Passion for building products that expand access to credit and improve financial outcomes for consumers.
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.
Compensation
At Upstart, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. 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).
- United States | Remote — Anticipated Base Salary Range: $166,900–$223,900 USD
- Canada | Remote — Anticipated Base Salary Range: $160,400–$217,000 CAD
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
- Retirement benefits: 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees (US only)
- Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources (US); supplemental health coverage (Canada)
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
- Income protection benefits including life insurance and disability coverage
- 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
- 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 physical and emotional well-being and personal development
- Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources for your best work
- 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 offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026)
For roles based in Canada, please note that we are not currently able to hire in Quebec.
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]
Frequently Asked Questions
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