Senior Applied ML Engineer
36% above the median for Senior Engineering roles
The Team
Upstart’s Applied LLM team is building foundational infrastructure that democratizes access to generative AI for every product and engineering team across the company. This is a cross-functional team at the intersection of machine learning, product, and engineering. Our mission is to bring the power of ML, particularly large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, to life in Upstart’s core products.
As a Senior Applied Machine Learning Engineer focused on building Upstart's LLM applications, you'll work closely with researchers, product managers, platform engineers, and designers to ship intelligent features that elevate the user experience and expand the capabilities of our systems.
How you’ll make an impact:
Design and build user-facing ML features that harness LLMs and generative AI to unlock new product capabilities
Partner with product, design, and ML research to prototype and deliver high-impact, ML-powered experiences
Own the technical architecture and implementation strategy for applied ML systems - balancing latency, observability, and iteration speed
Build scalable services and APIs that bring model outputs to users in trustworthy and intuitive ways
Collaborate across platform, infra, and legal/compliance teams to ensure ML deployments meet standards for safety, fairness, and performance
Establish and evangelize best practices for prompt design, model evaluation, and experimentation across the org
What we’re looking for:
Minimum qualifications:
4+ years of software engineering experience, with 2+ years working directly on ML-driven products or intelligent systems
Proven ability to lead complex initiatives across engineering, product, and research stakeholders
Strong backend development skills (e.g., Python with FastAPI or Flask), plus experience with cloud-native tooling (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform)
Experience integrating LLMs or ML models into production systems, including APIs and user-facing applications
Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, product-minded approach
Ability to think rigorously about system design, latency tradeoffs, and user impact when working with ML features
Preferred qualifications:
Experience shipping GenAI or LLM-powered features using frameworks like LangChain, LlamaIndex, or OpenAI APIs
Familiarity with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), vector search (e.g., FAISS, Pinecone), and real-time inference patterns
Proficiency in full-stack development, including front-end work with React or similar frameworks
Strong intuition for prompt engineering, model testing, and evaluation methodologies
Experience navigating complex requirements around explainability, user trust, or compliance in ML applications
Track record of influencing architecture or product direction at a team or org level
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Remote
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.
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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
$199,500—$276,000 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
$177,700—$220,000 USD