Principal Software Engineer, Cash Line

How you’ll make an impact

• Design and build the core backend systems that power a new revolving credit product used directly by consumers.
• Own distributed services that support underwriting, pricing, line management, transactions, and servicing with high reliability and observability.
• Translate complex product and economic requirements into scalable technical systems, balancing speed, risk, and long term maintainability.
• Partner closely with machine learning engineers and data teams to productionize models and integrate AI driven decisioning into real time user flows.
• Collaborate with mobile engineers to deliver seamless consumer facing features, ensuring backend systems are optimized for real world usage patterns.
• Work across the full lifecycle of credit, from consumer acquisition and onboarding through funding, servicing, and capital markets distribution.
• Shape foundational architectural decisions in a greenfield environment, while thoughtfully integrating with systems from Upstart’s mature lending platform.
• Contribute to a Gen AI first product strategy, helping define how generative AI enhances user experience, internal tooling, automation, and operational workflows.
• Raise the bar for engineering quality through strong API design, data modeling, observability, testing, and operational rigor.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) + 8 years of experience
• Strong experience designing distributed systems and event driven architectures, including real world handling of retries, idempotency, fault tolerance, and failure modes.
• Proficiency in an object oriented language such as Python, Java, Kotlin, C#, or Ruby, and experience building and maintaining APIs and service oriented architectures.
• Experience shipping consumer facing features end to end, with a strong understanding of latency, reliability, and user impact.
• Ability to work effectively in ambiguous, zero to one environments where requirements evolve quickly.
• Strong cross functional collaboration skills and comfort working closely with product, finance, compliance, and other business stakeholders.
• Active use of AI tools in engineering, with a forward-looking perspective on how AI is reshaping software development.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills; able to align teams and advocate for high-impact solutions across functions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in fintech, credit, payments, or other regulated financial systems.
• Familiarity with revolving credit, line management, transaction processing, or ledger based systems.
• Experience building systems that sit at the intersection of consumer products and capital markets infrastructure.
• Background working with ML driven pricing, underwriting, or risk systems.
• Hands on experience leveraging generative AI in product features or internal engineering workflows.
• Experience on small, high ownership teams where engineers are responsible for architecture, implementation, and operational excellence.
• Passion for building products that expand access to credit and improve financial outcomes for underserved consumers.