Principal Data Analyst - Credit Analytics

Job Description:

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; 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:

The Analytics team at Upstart is at the forefront of AI/ML-driven credit lending across the organization. Our team employs advanced analytical and technical prowess to deliver comprehensive support in Upstart’s lending platform. The Credit Analytics team is building out foundational frameworks and infrastructures on loan performance and forecasting, market cycles and emerging trends, risk and return trade-offs, among others. We also take pride in developing our business intelligence tools to empower self-service reporting and streamlining work processes through automation.

As a Principal Analyst at Upstart, you will join our Credit Analytics horizontal team. In this multi-disciplinary role, you will drive strategic workstreams spanning across valuation and credit oversight, shaping and hands-on scaling our analytics processes, credit performance frameworks, and post-origination forecasting methodologies. Collaborating across Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Product, and Finance teams, you will spearhead cross-functional initiatives that embed rigorous valuation models, forward-looking credit governance, and automated processes—empowering Upstart’s multi-product growth and reinforcing our market leadership in lending.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Partner with the Data Analytics vertical teams, Machine Learning, Product, Engineering, and Finance teams to shape credit metrics and narratives, financial forecast, and driving consensus in the state of Upstart platform
• Influence Upstart’s credit platform and investor/lending community through informing decisions, opportunities, and risks, while supported by deep understanding and insights on Upstart’s machine learning model, credit, and valuation
• Lead and develop analytics on underwriting decisions, credit monitoring, model impacts, asset forecast, and valuation modeling to conduct in-depth analyses on credit data, trends, and anomalies that drive model and product decisions
• Develop foundational forecast pipelines, and automated reporting to enable robust and dynamic credit intelligence for Upstart analyst community
• Mentor junior team members on best practices and foster a center of excellence on data, credit, and analytics

Minimum Qualifications: 

• 8+ years professional experience with demonstrated growth and leadership in technology and financial industry
• Experience in developing credit analytics, financial forecasting, and/or quantitative risk models with Python, R, & SQL 
• Experience in decisioning supported by large datasets, data modeling, and data pipelines using tools like Databricks, DBT, Looker, Snowflake, & Redshift
• Degree in Quantitative Finance/Economics, Statistics, Engineering, Data Science or other quantitative fields

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and in deep partnership with cross-functional colleagues especially in Finance, Product, Data Engineering, ML teams
• Ability to craft executive-ready narratives around complex business or performance topics, leveraging visualization and dashboards (e.g., Tableau, PowerBI, Looker), and to successfully influence and drive C-level decision-making
• Experience in SOX controlled reporting or regulatory reporting cycles 
• Experience in consumer lending strategy, and/or investment experience in consumer credit capital markets, private credit, structured products
• Experience in developing junior team members on technical subjects

Position location - This role is available in the following locations: Remote

Time zone requirements - The team operates on the West coast time zones.

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.

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
$182,300—$252,500 USD

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

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