About this Senior Technical Program Manager role at Upstart
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 3,000 signals, powering smarter, fairer decisions for millions of customers. But the numbers only hint at the impact. Every idea, every voice, and every contribution moves us closer to a world where credit never stands between people and their financial progress.
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. Digital-first doesn’t mean distant. We’re intentional about in-person connection through team onsites, planning sessions, and moments that spark creativity and trust. And whether you choose to work primarily from home or collaborate in-person from one of our offices in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, or New York City, you’ll have the support to work in the way that works best for you.
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
Upstart’s Auto Retail team is bringing Upstart’s AI-powered underwriting combined with best-in-class software to help all Americans get better access, lower rates and a better process when purchasing a vehicle. Auto lending represents over $600B in annual volume across over 70K dealerships and is used by almost every household in the country yet has record low process satisfaction, transparency, and credit access. We aim to change that. The team partners across Product, Engineering, Analytics, Machine Learning, Servicing, Fraud, dealer-facing functions and more to improve the experience for lenders, dealers, and consumers.
As a Senior Technical Program Manager, you will own program planning, execution and outcomes for complex, high-impact Auto Retail initiatives. You will turn ambiguous, multi-stakeholder work into clear plans, drive decisions, manage dependencies and risks, and help teams deliver reliably and with quality. You will partner with Product Managers, who own product strategy and priorities, and Engineering Managers and engineers, who own technical design and implementation. Your leverage will come from technical judgment, cross-functional leadership, bringing clarity from ambiguity, and the practical execution systems you build.
You’ll help accelerate the quality, speed, and adoption of the software and features we build by:
- Surfacing operational signals and customer pain points
- Analyzing problems and opportunities and developing clear, stack-ranked recommendations
- Driving PM-prioritized initiatives from technical planning through launch and rollout
- Establishing continuous feedback loops by monitoring post-launch results and identifying opportunities for iteration and improvement
How you’ll make an impact
- Lead complex, cross-functional software initiatives from alignment through delivery, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Servicing, Analytics, Machine Learning, Fraud, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and dealer-facing partners.
- Translate ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problem spaces into actionable plans with clear milestones, dependencies, risks, decision points, and owners.
- Partner with Product Managers on business strategy and prioritization, and with Engineering Managers and engineering teams on technical approaches and execution plans.
- Engage meaningfully in technical discussions by evaluating software architecture, data models, data movement, data pipelines, and trade-offs among potential approaches.
- Identify blockers, clarify ambiguous ownership, surface downstream impacts early, and help teams resolve issues before they create delivery risk.
- Establish practical, lightweight ways of working that improve coordination and visibility across teams without creating unnecessary reporting or process overhead.
Minimum Qualifications
- Professional experience in a Technical Program Management role, including ownership of complex, cross-functional software initiatives.
- Experience translating ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problems into executable plans with milestones, dependencies, risks, and clear ownership.
- Experience working in a TPM or similar role directly with product managers and engineering managers and their teams with a clear understanding of ownership, roles, and responsibilities.
- Technical fluency in software architecture, data models, third party vendor integrations, and data pipelines, with the ability to evaluate trade-offs among technical approaches.
- Experience delivering initiatives across Product and Engineering while connecting program execution to measurable business or customer outcomes.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in a complex industry, a multi-sided marketplace, or B2B2C environment with competing stakeholders and priorities such as speed, quality, reliability, and scale.
- Experience partnering with teams in financial services, auto retail, servicing, fraud, analytics, Machine Learning, or other operationally complex domains.
- Experience establishing and scaling practical program-management processes in an environment where ownership and ways of working are still evolving.
- Experience in a growth-stage technology company or other environment where teams must move quickly while managing execution risk.
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 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.
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).
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 to help you plan for the future, 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 designed to support you and your family, 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 for added financial security
- 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 (duration varies by country)
- 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 your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
- Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, 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 one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City
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]
