Principal Software Engineer - Core GenAI Platform

The Team

Upstart’s GenAI Core Platform team builds the foundational infrastructure that democratizes access to generative AI across the company. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will provide technical leadership across multiple cross-functional teams, shaping the vision, architecture, and adoption strategy for our new GenAI platform for Engineers and non-Engineers alike. You will work closely with engineering leaders, ML researchers, and product stakeholders to ensure Upstart can scale the safe, efficient, and responsible use of LLMs across all business domains.

This role goes beyond delivery. It is about setting long-term direction, de-risking our most ambitious AI initiatives, and raising the bar for technical excellence across the organization. In short, you will have a direct influence and impact on how we enable and implement GenAI and LLMs internally at Upstart.

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Define and drive the multi-year technical roadmap for the Core GenAI Platform, influencing adoption and alignment across several engineering teams
  
  
• Lead architecture and design of large-scale, mission-critical systems for model inference, orchestration, and compliance
  
  
• Identify and solve systemic technical risks that impact multiple teams and business-critical AI initiatives
  
  
• Build high-leverage, generalizable platform components that meaningfully accelerate the productivity of engineers across Upstart
  
  
• Mentor senior engineers (L5) and shape the growth of future technical leaders, fostering a culture of learning and excellence
  
  
• Collaborate with VP-level and above leadership to influence business strategy with technical insight
  
  
• Represent Upstart internally and externally as a thought leader in GenAI systems through executive reviews, cross-company forums, and industry venues
  
  
• Establish operational standards for GenAI integrations, ensuring security, fairness, and reliability at scale
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with at least 3 years leading large-scale, cross-team technical initiatives
  
  
• Proven track record of delivering complex, distributed systems and platform infrastructure that span multiple teams
  
  
• Deep expertise in backend systems and infrastructure technologies such as Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, and cloud-native architectures
  
  
• Experience designing and operationalizing ML/LLM platforms at scale, including optimization for cost, latency, and reliability
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to set long-term technical direction and influence organizational strategy
  
  
• Excellent communication skills with a history of driving alignment across engineering and business stakeholders
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Full-stack engineering experience (Python, FastAPI, Kotlin, Spring, React/TypeScript, or similar)
  
  
• Expertise in LLM-specific infrastructure such as inference optimization (quantization, ONNX, streaming), retrieval-augmented generation, and vector databases
  
  
• Hands-on experience with LLM toolchains such as LangChain, LlamaIndex, or OpenAI APIs
  
  
• Recognized as a technical leader beyond your immediate team, influencing platform strategy across organizations
  
  
• Awareness of industry best practices and risks in GenAI including hallucination mitigation, fairness, explainability, and data privacy
  
  
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and shaping organizational standards for operational excellence

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 on-sites, 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

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