Principal Software Engineer, Core Pricing

About Upstart

Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload.

Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.

Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!

The Team   The Pricing Platform team builds and owns the core systems that power our pricing and revenue models across the company. This highly collaborative team sits at the intersection of engineering, product, capital, and machine learning—enabling data-driven pricing strategies that impact profitability and customer experience. We build robust backend services in Python that abstract pricing logic for use across multiple product teams. Our work has direct implications on how we optimize fees, launch experiments, and ensure our pricing strategy scales with the business.   How You’ll Make an Impact

• Lead the technical direction of our pricing platform, developing scalable backend services in Python that power dynamic pricing and revenue models.
• Translate high-level business objectives—like margin optimization and monetization—into concrete engineering initiatives.
• Drive experimentation infrastructure and collaborate with ML and capital teams to build models and tools for pricing optimization.
• Architect systems that expose pricing logic as reusable services across multiple product areas, enabling other teams to build quickly and consistently.
• Serve as a thought partner to product and business leads, bringing strong business acumen and a quantitative mindset to decision-making.
• Actively code and mentor engineers across the team, setting a high technical bar while remaining hands-on.
• Ensure our pricing systems evolve to meet the needs of a fast-scaling fintech environment without drifting into infrastructure or DevOps scope.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including time as a Staff or Principal Engineer.
• Proven track record of building distributed backend systems in Python or similar languages.
• Experience leading technical direction for platform teams that serve multiple product surfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to connect engineering efforts with business outcomes, especially in revenue optimization or monetization.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills; comfortable interfacing with ML, product, and finance stakeholders.
• Hands-on experience with launching experiments and interpreting their impact on revenue or growth metrics.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in fintech, ecommerce, or other domains with complex pricing and monetization logic.
• Background in applied math, financial modeling, or economics.
• Experience working closely with ML and Capital teams to influence model design and business strategy.
• Familiarity with pricing engines, experimentation platforms, or fee optimization frameworks.
• Passion for building platforms that empower other teams to move faster and make better decisions.

 

Position Location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote, San Mateo, Columbus, Austin 

Time Zone Requirements - This team operates across all U.S. time zones.

Travel Requirements - This team has regular on-site collaboration sessions. These occur 3 days per quarter at an Upstart office. If you need to travel to make these meetups, Upstart will cover all travel related expenses.

 

What you'll love: 

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart 
• 401(k) with 100% company match up to $4,500 and immediate vesting and after-tax savings
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Life and disability insurance
• Generous holiday, vacation, sick and safety leave  
• Supportive parental, family care, and military leave programs
• Annual wellness, technology & ergonomic reimbursement programs
• Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates, employee resource groups (ERGs), and other interest groups such as book clubs, fitness, investing, and volunteering
• Catered lunches + snacks & drinks when working in offices

 

#LI-REMOTE

#LI-MidSenior

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).

United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range$186,100—$257,500 USD

Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to ensuring that underrepresented classes receive better access to affordable credit, and are just as committed to embracing diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices. We celebrate all cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and know that we can only become better together. 

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 candidate_accommodations@upstart.com

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