Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Upstart is hiring a Principal Data Scientist to guide product, marketing, finance, and ML leaders in making evidence-based business decisions. The role shapes strategic questions and builds forecasting, spend optimization, experimentation, measurement, and attribution tools to improve the company’s credit products and business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Shape strategic direction by identifying the gaps and questions others miss. You're not waiting for orders; you're setting the agenda
• Be a thought partner to leaders across product, finance, and ML. You help them understand complex problems from first principles and define what actually matters
• Design, build, and own tools that are leveraged across the team, such as models for forecasting change, optimizing spend allocation, marketing incrementality, and attribution
• Design and execute experiments, from classic A/B tests to complex causal inference analyses, with full ownership of hypothesis development, experiment design, and results interpretation
• Build metrics frameworks and measurement strategies, helping stakeholders understand what to optimize for and why
• Collaborate with our ML organization on high-complexity technical challenges, bringing statistical rigor and causal reasoning to our work
• Translate ambiguous, multifaceted business problems into clear frameworks that guide decision-making
• Take ownership of your work end-to-end: from scoping the question, to analysis, to storytelling, to driving organizational change based on insights
• Influence without direct authority across engineering, product, finance, and executive leadership, creating clarity and alignment where understanding is incomplete

Skills

• 8+ years of experience in data science or quantitative roles with direct impact on product or business strategy
• Demonstrated mastery of experimental design and A/B testing, with rigorous experience designing and interpreting experiments and translating findings into meaningful business actions
• Deep statistical expertise, including causal inference methods, with the ability to select and apply the right method to ambiguous business problems and derive causal insights rather than surface-level correlations
• Strong coding experience in Python or equivalent, with a demonstrated ability to build technical tools that create leverage across the organization rather than just executing ad hoc analyses
• Track record of partnering with non-technical stakeholders to translate data into actionable business decisions, not just delivering analyses
• Comfort operating in ambiguous environments where the right questions aren't predetermined, and the ability to shape direction through thoughtful inquiry
• Exceptional communication skills, demonstrated ability to move fluidly between strategic questions and tactical details, and excellence in translating complex technical bodies of work into clear narratives
• Exposure to ML applications and ability to partner effectively with ML/data science teams on technical challenges
• Familiarity with personalization, recommendation systems, or matching algorithms
• Experience with at least one of the following is highly preferred: forecasting, spend allocation optimization, marketing incrementality, or attribution

Benefits

• Competitive compensation, including bonus opportunities and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
• 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, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US employees, and supplemental health coverage for Canada
• Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements
• Paid family and parental leave (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 physical and emotional well-being and personal development
• Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources
• Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
• Digital-first work flexibility, with most work able to be done remotely
• Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City

Company Overview

Company H1B Sponsorship