Senior Technical Program Manager

The Team

Upstart’s Auto Retail team is bringing Upstart’s AI-powered underwriting combined with best-in-class software to help all Americans get better access, lower rates and a better process when purchasing a vehicle. Auto lending represents over $600B in annual volume across over 70K dealerships and is used by almost every household in the country yet has record low process satisfaction, transparency, and credit access. We aim to change that. The team partners across Product, Engineering, Analytics, Machine Learning, Servicing, Fraud, dealer-facing functions and more to improve the experience for lenders, dealers, and consumers.

As a Senior Technical Program Manager, you will own program planning, execution and outcomes for complex, high-impact Auto Retail initiatives. You will turn ambiguous, multi-stakeholder work into clear plans, drive decisions, manage dependencies and risks, and help teams deliver reliably and with quality. You will partner with Product Managers, who own product strategy and priorities, and Engineering Managers and engineers, who own technical design and implementation. Your leverage will come from technical judgment, cross-functional leadership, bringing clarity from ambiguity, and the practical execution systems you build.

You’ll help accelerate the quality, speed, and adoption of the software and features we build by:

Surfacing operational signals and customer pain points

Analyzing problems and opportunities and developing clear, stack-ranked recommendations

Driving PM-prioritized initiatives from technical planning through launch and rollout

Establishing continuous feedback loops by monitoring post-launch results and identifying opportunities for iteration and improvement

How you’ll make an impact

Lead complex, cross-functional software initiatives from alignment through delivery, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Servicing, Analytics, Machine Learning, Fraud, Legal, Compliance, Operations, and dealer-facing partners.

Translate ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problem spaces into actionable plans with clear milestones, dependencies, risks, decision points, and owners.

Partner with Product Managers on business strategy and prioritization, and with Engineering Managers and engineering teams on technical approaches and execution plans.

Engage meaningfully in technical discussions by evaluating software architecture, data models, data movement, data pipelines, and trade-offs among potential approaches.

Identify blockers, clarify ambiguous ownership, surface downstream impacts early, and help teams resolve issues before they create delivery risk.

Establish practical, lightweight ways of working that improve coordination and visibility across teams without creating unnecessary reporting or process overhead.

Minimum Qualifications

Professional experience in a Technical Program Management role, including ownership of complex, cross-functional software initiatives.

Experience translating ambiguous, multi-stakeholder problems into executable plans with milestones, dependencies, risks, and clear ownership.

Experience working in a TPM or similar role directly with product managers and engineering managers and their teams with a clear understanding of ownership, roles, and responsibilities.

Technical fluency in software architecture, data models, third party vendor integrations, and data pipelines, with the ability to evaluate trade-offs among technical approaches.

Experience delivering initiatives across Product and Engineering while connecting program execution to measurable business or customer outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working in a complex industry, a multi-sided marketplace, or B2B2C environment with competing stakeholders and priorities such as speed, quality, reliability, and scale.

Experience partnering with teams in financial services, auto retail, servicing, fraud, analytics, Machine Learning, or other operationally complex domains.

Experience establishing and scaling practical program-management processes in an environment where ownership and ways of working are still evolving.

Experience in a growth-stage technology company or other environment where teams must move quickly while managing execution risk.

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.

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

$162,100—$224,500 USD