Software Engineer (Home Lending) at Upstart

Job Description

Upstart is the leading AI-powered lending marketplace, helping banks and credit unions expand access to fair and affordable credit. Through our AI platform, lending partners achieve higher approval rates with lower losses — across demographics — while giving borrowers a fast, digital-first experience. Over 80% of our loans are approved instantly, requiring no document uploads.

We’re a digital-first company, meaning most Upstarters work remotely across the U.S., supported by collaborative hubs in San Mateo (CA), Columbus (OH), and Austin (TX).
Our mission is simple yet powerful: to enable effortless credit based on true risk. If that resonates with you — and you want to help build financial products that make a real difference — we’d love to hear from you.

The Opportunity:

Join the Home Lending engineering team to help design, build, and scale Upstart’s newest products: HELOC and Mortgage.

This is a chance to shape two of the company’s most exciting initiatives — products built to unlock home equity for millions of Americans seeking smarter, faster, and more affordable financing for renovations, debt repayment, or major purchases.

We’re tackling a massive opportunity: enabling credit access for customers who’ve been overlooked by traditional lenders. Using machine learning and automation, we’re delivering lending experiences that are faster, fairer, and more inclusive.

What You’ll Do:

As an engineer on this team, you’ll work across the full stack, collaborating closely with product managers, designers, and fellow engineers. You’ll help shape product direction while shipping high-quality, reliable software that directly impacts customers.

Your responsibilities will include:

Building new features and services for Upstart’s Home Lending products using Kotlin, AWS, Kafka, Spring Boot, and Kubernetes.
Proactively identifying improvements beyond your assigned tasks — from architecture to process optimization.
Turning routine development work into opportunities to level up code quality and product scalability.
Engaging deeply with product requirements and proposing smarter technical solutions when trade-offs are needed.
Driving measurable improvements in performance, reliability, and customer experience.
Contributing to the team’s culture of quality, innovation, and continuous learning.

What We’re Looking For:

Minimum Qualifications:

4+ years of professional experience with Kotlin, Java, or C# (we use Kotlin, but Java/C# expertise transfers well).
Solid experience with SQL databases and domain modeling.

Preferred Skills & Attributes:

Excellent communication skills — you can clearly explain technical concepts to both engineers and cross-functional teams.
Enjoy both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration; comfortable with regular video sessions (e.g., mob programming) in a distributed team.
Confidence to challenge ideas respectfully — you’re empowered to speak up when something doesn’t feel right.
A sense of ownership — you think like an engineer and a stakeholder.

Work Environment & Travel:

We’re remote-first, but our team values in-person connection. Expect quarterly onsite meetups (about three days each) in one of our main offices: Columbus, Austin, or San Mateo. All travel costs are covered by Upstart.

What You’ll Love About Working Here:

Competitive pay (base, bonus, and equity)
Comprehensive benefits – medical, dental, vision, and HSA contributions
401(k) with 100% company match (up to $4,500)
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
Life & disability insurance
Generous time off – vacation, holidays, sick leave, and safety leave
Parental, family care, and military leave programs
Annual wellness and tech stipends
Inclusive culture – ERGs, book clubs, fitness groups, volunteering opportunities, and more
Catered lunches and snacks in-office

Why You’ll Thrive Here:

At Upstart, we celebrate curiosity, empathy, and first-principles thinking. We value engineers who question assumptions, push boundaries, and build with purpose. If you’re energized by solving tough problems alongside smart, mission-driven teammates — this is where you’ll do your best work.

Benefits found in job post

401(k)
Disability insurance