Principal Product Manager, Marketplace Optimization

About Upstart

Upstart is the 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 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload.

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;
Austin, Texas; and New York City, NY (opening Summer 2026).

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!

Upstart’s Marketplace Optimization team builds and scales systems that clear Upstart’s marketplace by balancing tradeoffs for borrowers, lenders, investors, and Upstart. We enable borrowers to access credit, and our capital partners to deploy capital efficiently and with confidence.

As the Principal Product Manager, Marketplace Optimization at Upstart, you will partner with Machine Learning to optimize those systems, and work with our engineering and business teams to simplify and automate the operations of the system. You will design experiments to test your best ideas, and be responsible for defining and hitting goals for every side of Upstart’s marketplace.

• You’ll create the mechanisms that clear Upstart’s marketplace, improving rates for customers and returns for capital partners.
• Shape the algorithms that determine how participants are matched, and define the rules that support stable, trusted outcomes for all participants at scale.
• You’ll collaborate on the vision and strategy for Upstart’s marketplace with Machine learning, our business teams, and engineering. What should we focus on, why, and when?
• Ultimately customers tangibly save money and capital partners earn superior risk-adjusted returns thanks to your work.

• 8+ years experience in a marketplace product management role, with demonstrated success leading an engineering team to deliver critical initiatives in the domains of pricing, monetization, matching, routing, incentives.
• Ability to build relationships and effectively collaborate with all levels of the organization, from C-level to individual contributors.
• Ability to manage and influence through persuasion, negotiation, and consensus building.

• Academic degree in Economics, Econometrics, Statistics, Operations Research.
• Hands‑on experience applying optimization and simulation to real business problems.
• Track record driving automation that reduces manual work in operational workflows.
• Background in marketplace pricing, matching, or capital/finance products — able to translate business constraints into system configs.
• Strong experiment design and analysis experience (A/B testing, offline simulations, and metrics-driven decisions).

This role is available in the following location:
Remote.

The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.

As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. Most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2‑4 consecutive days at a time.

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity).
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart.
• Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year.
• 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…