Principal Software Engineer, Cash Line

Upstart · Fintech · Remote · Engineering

Principal Software Engineer for Upstart's new Cash Line revolving credit product. This role involves designing and building core backend systems for underwriting, pricing, and servicing, with a strong emphasis on integrating AI and generative AI capabilities into both the product and internal workflows. The engineer will work in a greenfield environment, collaborating with product, ML, and other stakeholders to deliver a category-defining credit experience.

What you'd actually do

  1. Design and build the core backend systems that power a new revolving credit product used directly by consumers.
  2. Own distributed services that support underwriting, pricing, line management, transactions, and servicing with high reliability and observability.
  3. Translate complex product and economic requirements into scalable technical systems, balancing speed, risk, and long term maintainability.
  4. Partner closely with machine learning engineers and data teams to productionize models and integrate AI driven decisioning into real time user flows.
  5. Contribute to a Gen AI first product strategy, helping define how generative AI enhances user experience, internal tooling, automation, and operational workflows.

Skills

Required

  • 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.

Nice to have

  • 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.

What the JD emphasized

  • AI driven underwriting
  • Gen AI first product strategy
  • greenfield environment
  • zero to one environments

Other signals

  • AI driven underwriting
  • Generative AI as a core capability
  • productionize models and integrate AI driven decisioning
  • Gen AI first product strategy