Principal Product Manager, Communications Platform

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 3,000 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, 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:

Help Upstart become the world’s most radically pro-consumer company in finance! As we continue building toward long-term customer trust, deeper engagement, and lifetime value, platform investments are becoming increasingly important across the customer journey. Rather than owning individual customer experiences, platform product teams develop the core capabilities that allow feature teams to innovate faster while improving reliability, scalability, and regulatory readiness.

As the Principal Product Manager, Communications Platform, you will drive a greenfield initiative to establish the shared communications foundation for the company. Working closely with Engineering, Compliance, Risk, and product leaders across the business, you'll define the long-term vision for how communications are delivered, orchestrated, governed, and measured across every customer touchpoint. Your work will enable product teams to deliver more personalized, trusted experiences while providing the platform capabilities, compliance guardrails, and shared infrastructure needed to support both today's products and the next generation of AI-powered customer interactions.

How you’ll make an impact

• Define and execute the product strategy and roadmap for Upstart's Communications Platform, balancing immediate business needs with a long-term platform vision.
• Partner with engineering to build shared platform capabilities, including messaging APIs, delivery infrastructure, governance controls, and communication data models that support multiple products and channels.
• Establish scalable platform abstractions that enable product teams to deliver customer communications more efficiently while reducing duplicated engineering effort.
• Drive alignment across Engineering, Growth, Servicing, Capital, Banking, Compliance, Risk, and other cross-functional partners to prioritize platform investments and influence company-wide technical strategy.
• Develop platform capabilities that improve regulatory compliance, auditability, and operational visibility through standardized controls and monitoring.
• Define success metrics, evaluate platform performance, and use data and customer insights to continuously improve platform adoption, reliability, and business impact.
• Evaluate external technologies and vendor partnerships that extend platform capabilities and support future product strategy.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 7+ years of product management experience building software products
• Experience leading platform, infrastructure, or developer platform products in a software organization.
• Experience partnering closely with engineering teams to define APIs, platform capabilities, or distributed systems.
• Experience leading cross-functional product initiatives involving engineering and business stakeholders from strategy through successful delivery.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or scaling communications, messaging, engagement, or customer interaction platforms.
• Experience in fintech, financial services, marketplaces, or other highly regulated industries.
• Knowledge of regulatory compliance considerations for customer communications and platform governance.
• Ability to develop long-term platform strategy while balancing near-term product delivery and organizational priorities.
• Experience communicating technical strategy and influencing executive stakeholders across multiple organizations.

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

Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/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 or Canada (outside of Quebec) but are expected to spend high quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites and in-person meetings. The onsite 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$187,900-$260,000 USD

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).

Canada | Remote - Anticipated Base Salary Range$182,800-$230,000 CAD

What you'll love

At Upstart, our benefits for full-time employees 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

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