Senior Data Platform Engineer

Upstart is a leading AI lending marketplace focused on reducing the cost and complexity of borrowing for Americans. They are seeking a Senior Data Platform Engineer to design and build scalable data platform infrastructure, improve data reliability, and collaborate with various teams to enhance data accessibility and usability across the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Design and build scalable data platform infrastructure, including distributed systems that power data discovery, metadata management, and data access
• Develop and maintain tooling that enables teams to self-serve data transformations, testing, and deployment workflows within the Lakehouse
• Improve data reliability and observability by building systems for monitoring, alerting, and data quality validation
• Partner with machine learning engineers, analysts, and product teams to understand data needs and drive adoption of platform capabilities
• Contribute to platform evolution in areas such as metadata services, natural language data access, and AI-enabled data interactions
• Lead and influence technical design decisions, balancing short-term delivery with long-term platform scalability and maintainability

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) plus 4+ years of experience
• Experience building and operating distributed data systems or data platform infrastructure in a cloud environment (e.g., AWS)
• Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python, Java, Scala, Javascript or Kotlin
• Experience working with data processing frameworks or infrastructure (e.g., Spark, Kafka, Airflow, or similar technologies)
• Experience designing, deploying, and maintaining production-grade data systems, including monitoring and reliability practices
• Experience building or supporting data platforms, developer tooling, or internal infrastructure products
• Knowledge of metadata management, data cataloging, or data governance systems
• Experience working with Lakehouse architectures, Databricks, or similar modern data platforms
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and translate data concepts into practical solutions
• Interest in applying AI/ML capabilities to improve data accessibility, discovery, or user experience