Director of Engineering, Upstart Bank

Role overview

Director of Engineering (Upstart Bank) is a high-impact engineering leadership position responsible for building and scaling the core technology foundation of a modern, regulated banking platform from scratch. The role sits at the intersection of fintech innovation, regulatory infrastructure, and large-scale distributed systems, partnering closely with Product, Compliance, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Operations.

Responsibilities

• Build and scale the engineering organization, growing from a seed team into a multi-team structure with strong technical leadership.
• Define and execute the technical strategy and architecture for core banking capabilities:
  • ledgering, funding, deposits, payments, integrations, and financial reporting
• Design org structure and hiring strategy; build an engineering leadership bench.
• Partner with Product and cross-functional leaders to translate business, regulatory, and operational needs into scalable delivery plans.
• Own end-to-end delivery of critical banking infrastructure, ensuring reliability, scalability, performance, and operational excellence.
• Establish engineering standards, controls, and development practices for security, auditability, traceability, and compliance.
• Lead execution across complex dependencies with Compliance, Legal, Risk, Finance, and Operations.
• Build internal control processes that support audits and regulatory-grade operational resilience.
• Develop engineering managers and technical leaders; foster ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Math or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of engineering experience, including 5+ years in engineering management.
• Proven experience building and scaling engineering organizations through growth or foundational stages.
• Strong background in distributed systems, cloud architecture, and large-scale platform engineering.
• Experience leading teams in regulated, high-control environments with strong reliability and auditability requirements.
• Ability to define technical strategy and architectural direction for mission-critical systems.
• Experience collaborating with senior executives and cross-functional leaders.
• Strong communication and leadership skills to align technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice-to-have

• Financial systems/fintech domain experience (payments, ledgering, deposits, or funding).
• Experience hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing engineering talent in competitive environments.

Benefits / Compensation

• Competitive base salary plus performance bonuses and annual equity grants.
• Salary range: $228,300 - $315,900 USD (depending on location and experience).
• 401(k) with strong employer matching; employee stock purchase plan with discounted stock options.
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision).