About Upstart

Upstart is a leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than two-thirds of Upstart loans are approved instantly and are fully automated.

Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.

Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!

The team: 

Upstart aims to expand access to credit based on true risk. Upstart’s Machine Learning, Growth Partnerships team builds models used to target marketing campaigns and make loan offers on partner websites such as Credit Karma and NerdWallet, with the goal of expanding Upstart’s user base and driving product growth. The team has a large revenue impact and is critical to Upstart’s success.

As a Senior Data Scientist on this team, you will become fluent in our models and how they interact with our products. You’ll work on a rich variety of problems, like designing and reading out A/B tests, understanding price sensitivity, conducting in-depth data analysis to discover and size opportunities, and implementing data pipelines and dashboards. You will collaborate with a variety of stakeholders including ML scientists, engineers, product managers and growth marketers. Your work will drive cross-functional decision making and measurable results. To thrive in this role, you’ll need creativity, curiosity, critical thinking, product thinking, and an eye for impact. 

How you’ll make an impact

• Apply expertise in data analysis, statistical inference and presentation to drive large impact 
• Design and read out A/B tests for ML models and product improvements
• Build robust and insightful metrics to track model performance and drift
• Interface with growth and engineering teams to present analyses, size opportunities and suggest improvements to the business
• Understand our models and product to align ML goals with business performance

Minimum qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree or related experience in statistics or ML-adjacent fields of study
• 2 years experience in data science, partnering with Product, Engineering and/or Growth teams in a high-velocity environment
• 2 years experience with SQL and Python or R for data wrangling and visualization
• Experience with A/B tests, causal inference and statistical analysis to drive decisions
• Demonstrated ability to translate data insights to non-technical audiences

Preferred qualifications

• MS or PhD in applied statistics, mathematics, economics or operations research
• Subject matter expert on evaluating model performance
• Experience building data pipelines and dashboards
• Expert in the areas of experimental testing, causal Inference, A/B testing, and hypothesis testing 
• Familiarity with predictive modeling techniques (regression, gradient boosting, neural networks)

Position location This role is available in the following locations: San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; or Remote USA

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.

What you'll love

• Competitive compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart 
• 401(k) with 100% company match up to $4,500 and immediate vesting and after-tax savings
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Life and disability insurance
• Generous holiday, vacation, sick and safety leave  
• Supportive parental, family care, and military leave programs
• Annual wellness, technology & ergonomic reimbursement programs
• Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates, employee resource groups (ERGs), and other interest groups such as book clubs, fitness, investing, and volunteering
• Catered lunches + snacks & drinks when working in offices

#LI-REMOTE

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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).

Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to ensuring that underrepresented classes receive better access to affordable credit, and are just as committed to embracing diversity and inclusion in our hiring practices. We celebrate all cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and know that we can only become better together. 

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

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy