Software Engineer II, Marketplace Optimzation

Summary

Upstart is an AI lending marketplace focused on reducing the cost and complexity of borrowing for Americans. The Software Engineer II will design, build, and operate scalable backend systems for real-time marketplace decisioning, matching, offer selection, and monetization while enabling experimentation and improving marketplace efficiency. The role partners with product, machine learning, data science, capital markets, and lending teams to deliver reliable, business-critical systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate scalable backend systems that power real-time marketplace decisioning, matching, offer selection, and monetization
• Build flexible platform capabilities that enable experimentation with allocation strategies, marketplace economics, and new monetization approaches while maintaining reliability and scalability
• Develop reliable, observable services that balance availability, latency, correctness, and operational simplicity across complex distributed systems
• Partner with Product, Machine Learning, Pricing Engineering, Data Science, Capital Markets, and Lending Partnerships to translate marketplace needs into effective technical solutions
• Make architectural decisions that simplify systems, reduce coupling across marketplace and adjacent platforms, and create reusable capabilities that support future marketplace innovation
• Use Generative AI tools thoughtfully throughout the development lifecycle to accelerate implementation, testing, debugging, documentation, and learning while maintaining ownership of technical decisions, security, code quality, and correctness

Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) and **2****years of software engineering experience**
• Experience designing, building, and operating scalable backend or distributed systems in production
• Experience developing production services using one or more modern backend programming languages
• Experience building and operating business-critical systems with demonstrated use of testing, monitoring, incident response, and root cause analysis
• Experience designing production systems where reliability, availability, observability, and correctness are critical
• Experience with marketplaces, financial systems, recommendation or matching engines, optimization systems, or experimentation platforms
• Knowledge of low-latency, high-throughput distributed system design and architecture
• Experience partnering with machine learning or data science teams to integrate models or data-driven decisioning into production systems
• Experience with Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, or Kotlin
• Ability to navigate ambiguous technical and business problems, evaluate tradeoffs, and collaborate across engineering, product, and business teams

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or its equivalent) and **2****years of software engineering experience**
• Experience designing, building, and operating scalable backend or distributed systems in production
• Experience developing production services using one or more modern backend programming languages
• Experience building and operating business-critical systems with demonstrated use of testing, monitoring, incident response, and root cause analysis
• Experience designing production systems where reliability, availability, observability, and correctness are critical

Nice to Haves

• Experience with marketplaces, financial systems, recommendation or matching engines, optimization systems, or experimentation platforms
• Knowledge of low-latency, high-throughput distributed system design and architecture
• Experience partnering with machine learning or data science teams to integrate models or data-driven decisioning into production systems
• Experience with Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Python, or Kotlin
• Ability to navigate ambiguous technical and business problems, evaluate tradeoffs, and collaborate across engineering, product, and business teams

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, including bonus opportunities and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
• Retirement benefits, including a 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan with a company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually (USD in the US, CAD in Canada)
• 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 for US and supplemental health coverage for 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; duration varies by country
• Family-centered benefits supporting 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 supporting physical and emotional well-being and personal development
• Annual productivity allowance for relevant tools and resources, no matter where you work from
• 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
• Digital-first flexibility to work primarily from home or collaborate in-person from one of the company's offices