**Who this is for** This Principal Machine Learning Engineer role is for an individual with deep knowledge of the entire ML lifecycle, from data preparation to
Work type: remote
Location: United States | Remote
Salary: $220,700 – $300,000/yr
Type: Full-time
**Who this is for** This Principal Machine Learning Engineer role is for an individual with deep knowledge of the entire ML lifecycle, from data preparation to production deployment. If you are passionate about building foundational technology, scaling ML innovation, and working at the intersection of applied ML and platform engineering, Upstart offers an exciting opportunity. **Key highlights** The Machine Learning Platform team at Upstart builds the core technology that scales ML innovation across the company. As a Principal ML Engineer, you will design and build tools and systems to accelerate model development, improve predictive accuracy, and enhance the ML lifecycle. You will lead engineering initiatives to create scalable infrastructure for training, serving, and managing ML models. **You might be a good fit if you...** - Have extensive experience with the full machine learning lifecycle (data prep, training, deployment, monitoring). - Can design and build scalable, reusable infrastructure for ML platforms. - Possess strong programming skills, particularly in Python, and experience with distributed systems. - Are adept at automating operational workflows and defining the roadmap for next-generation ML platforms.
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 1,800 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 (opening Summer 2026), 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
The Machine Learning Platform team builds the foundational technology that scales machine learning innovation across Upstart. As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer, you will work at the intersection of applied ML and platform engineering—collaborating closely with Research Scientists, Data Scientists, and ML Platform Engineers to design tools and systems that accelerate model development to ultimately improve predictive accuracy. Success in this role requires deep knowledge of ML throughout the entire modeling lifecycle - from data preparation to training and deployment to production.
In this role, you will lead engineering initiatives that turn high-impact modeling needs into scalable, reusable infrastructure. This includes building a unified embeddings platform for training, serving, and managing representations at scale;streamlining feature engineering pipelines to reduce manual steps and deliver new signals quickly; developing automated continuous-learning systems that handle data refresh, retraining, evaluation, and drift monitoring with minimal manual effort; and scaling our training pipelines to support larger datasets, more complex architectures, and faster experimentation.
Across all of these efforts, you will work backward from applied ML projects that meaningfully improve accuracy—using those real-world scenarios to harden the platform capabilities that enable ML teams across Upstart to innovate with greater speed, reliability, and impact.
How You’ll Make an Impact
This is a high influence role suited for those who enjoy combining science innovation, with cross functional collaboration and advisory.Minimum Qualifications
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
$220,700—$300,000 USD
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:
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](mailto:candidate_accommodations@upstart.com)
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