Underwriting Manager

About Upstart

At Upstart, we’re united by a mission that matters: to radically reduce the cost and complexity of borrowing for all Americans. Every day, we bring creativity, experimentation, and advanced AI to reshape access to credit, helping millions move forward financially with clarity and confidence.

As the leading AI lending marketplace, we partner with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit through technology that’s both radically intelligent and deeply human. Our platform runs over one million predictions per borrower using more than 3,000 signals, powering smarter, fairer decisions for millions of customers. But the numbers only hint at the impact. Every idea, every voice, and every contribution moves us closer to a world where credit never stands between people and their financial progress.

We’re proudly digital-first, giving most Upstarters the flexibility to do their best work from wherever they thrive, alongside teammates across 80+ cities in the US and Canada. Digital-first doesn’t mean distant. We’re intentional about in-person connection through team onsites, planning sessions, and moments that spark creativity and trust. And whether you choose to work primarily from home or collaborate in-person from one of our offices in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, or New York City, you’ll have the support to work in the way that works best for you.

If you’re energized by tackling meaningful problems, excited to innovate with purpose, and motivated by work that truly matters, we’d love to hear from you.

The Team: 

The Home Lending Underwriting team is responsible for delivering accurate, consistent, and high-quality credit decisions that enable responsible growth of our Home Lending business. The team brings deep mortgage expertise to complex lending scenarios while ensuring underwriting decisions align with credit policy, investor requirements, and applicable regulatory requirements.

As the Senior Underwriting Manager, you will lead and develop a team of mortgage underwriting professionals while serving as a subject matter expert across Home Lending. You’ll partner closely with Credit Strategy, Product, Risk, Compliance, and Operations to translate credit policy into effective underwriting practices, resolve complex lending scenarios, identify emerging trends, and continuously improve the underwriting experience for our customers and frontline teams.

How you’ll make an impact

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of mortgage underwriting professionals responsible for delivering accurate, timely, and consistent credit decisions.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on residential mortgage underwriting, providing guidance on complex borrower scenarios, income analysis, assets, credit, collateral, debt-to-income calculations, and exceptions.
• Ensure underwriting decisions are consistently executed in accordance with established credit policy, investor guidelines, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner closely with Credit Strategy to interpret and operationalize credit policy, resolve complex underwriting questions, and provide frontline insights that inform future policy decisions.
• Monitor underwriting performance, quality results, exception trends, and recurring issues to identify opportunities to improve decision quality and the borrower experience.
• Establish effective escalation and decision-making practices for complex or ambiguous loan scenarios, ensuring underwriting teams receive timely and consistent guidance.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to improve underwriting workflows, tools, and technology, bringing the voice of the underwriter into product development and prioritization.
• Collaborate with Risk, Compliance, Operations, and other cross-functional partners on changes that impact underwriting and ensure underwriting considerations are represented in business decisions.
• Develop underwriting talent and subject matter expertise across the organization through coaching, knowledge sharing, and effective training.

Minimum Qualifications 

• 7+ years of residential mortgage underwriting experience, including experience underwriting complex borrower scenarios.
• 3+ years of people leadership experience managing mortgage underwriters or underwriting teams.
• Demonstrated experience evaluating borrower income, assets, credit, collateral, and debt-to-income calculations.
• Experience applying conventional mortgage underwriting guidelines and credit policies to loan decisions, complex scenarios, and exceptions.
• Experience interpreting and implementing changes to mortgage credit policies, investor guidelines, or underwriting requirements.
• Experience partnering with Credit, Risk, Compliance, or other stakeholders within a regulated mortgage lending environment.

Preferred Qualifications[

• Deep knowledge of the end-to-end residential mortgage origination lifecycle, including processing, underwriting, closing, and post-closing.
• Knowledge of agency, investor, and regulatory requirements applicable to residential mortgage underwriting.
• Experience underwriting home equity products, including HELOCs.
• Experience using underwriting quality, performance, and exception data to identify trends and improve decision-making.
• Experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams to improve underwriting workflows, decisioning tools, or lending technology.
• Ability to translate complex credit policies and guidelines into clear guidance for underwriting teams.
• Experience leading underwriting teams through significant credit policy, product, or technology changes.

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.

#LI-MidSenior 

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$104,800—$145,000 USD

What you'll love

At Upstart, our benefits for full-time employees are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:

• Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly 
• Retirement benefits to help you plan for the future, including a 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 designed to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US and supplemental health coverage for Canada.
• Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
• Income protection benefits, including life insurance and disability coverage for added financial security
• Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays, in line with local requirements
• Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments (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 your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
• Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, no matter where you work from
• Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
• Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City

For roles based in Canada, please note that we are not currently able to hire in Quebec.

Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Just as we are dedicated to improving access to affordable credit for all, we are committed to inclusive and fair hiring practices.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please email candidate_accommodations@upstart.com

https://www.upstart.com/candidate_privacy_policy