Senior Manager, Privacy Engineering

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

Upstart’s Privacy Engineering team builds the systems, controls, and practices that help protect borrower, applicant, partner, and Upstarter data across our products and platforms. The team works across Engineering, Security, Legal, Compliance, Product, Data, and Machine Learning to embed privacy-by-design into how Upstart builds, uses, retains, and governs data. As the Senior Manager, Privacy Engineering at Upstart, you will lead the team responsible for building scalable privacy infrastructure and technical privacy controls across Upstart’s AI lending marketplace. You will set the team’s roadmap, grow and support privacy engineers, and help translate privacy and regulatory requirements into durable engineering systems.

How you’ll make an impact

Lead the Privacy Engineering team’s strategy, roadmap, and execution across privacy infrastructure, data governance, and privacy-by-design initiatives

Hire, coach, and develop a team of privacy engineers while establishing clear operating rhythms, priorities, and technical standards

Guide the design and delivery of scalable privacy controls, including data discovery, classification, access controls, audit logging, retention, deletion, lineage, encryption, and key management

Partner with Legal, Compliance, Security, Product, Data, Machine Learning, and Infrastructure teams to translate privacy requirements into practical technical solutions

Oversee privacy reviews, technical risk assessments, and threat modeling for new products, data flows, models, and platform capabilities

Define metrics and communicate progress, tradeoffs, dependencies, and risks to technical and cross-functional stakeholder

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience, and 8+ years of experience in engineering, including at least 3 years of direct people management experience

Experience leading engineering teams responsible for production software, platform, privacy, security, or data systems

Experience designing, building, or operating privacy, security, data governance, or data platform capabilities in production environments

Experience translating privacy, security, compliance, or regulatory requirements into technical controls

Experience working with cross-functional partners such as Legal, Compliance, Security, Product, Data, or Machine Learning teams

Preferred Qualifications

Knowledge of privacy-by-design principles, data minimization, purpose limitation, consent, retention, deletion, and data subject rights

Knowledge of privacy and data protection regulations or frameworks such as GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, GLBA, FCRA, or similar requirements

Experience with privacy reviews, threat modeling, risk assessments, data inventories, lineage systems, or automated policy enforcement

Experience building privacy or governance controls for machine learning, AI, financial services, lending, or other regulated data environments

Ability to communicate technical privacy tradeoffs clearly across engineering, legal, product, security, and business audiences

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.

#LI-REMOTE

#LI-MidSenior

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).

United States | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range $190,600 — $263,900 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:

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 (opening Summer 2026!)

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 candidate_accommodations@upstart.com

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy