This role pays more than
94%
of similar roles. Most pay
$151,000–$228,387
— the shaded band above.
At the midpoint, this role pays about
$309k
versus about
$190k
for comparable roles.
Based on 240 similar postings.
Employer
About Upstart
Upstart is an AI lending platform that partners with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit using non-traditional variables.
Upstart currently has
50 open roles
on FindRole.
Listed pay typically runs
$166,900–$230,900
across 49 roles with salary data.
As the Senior Director of Data Platform Engineering, you will lead a multi-functional organization including Database Engineering, Data Capture, Data Curation, and Production Experience & Data Governance. You will be responsible for setting the strategy and roadmap for the company's data infrastructure while managing managers and multiple engineering teams. Your daily work involves building platforms and tooling that empower other engineering teams to manage their own reliable data pipelines rather than relying on embedded data engineers. You will modernize operational data architecture, reduce technical debt, and improve data quality across the ecosystem. The role requires expertise in database engineering, data governance, and distributed data systems within a regulated financial services environment. You will collaborate with Analytics, Engineering, and Machine Learning Platform teams to translate business priorities into high-impact infrastructure investments for the company's lending platform.
Lead and evolve the data platform organization including database engineering, data capture, curation, and governance.
Establish the long-term strategy and roadmap for Upstart’s data infrastructure based on business and technical priorities.
Modernize operational data architecture to simplify systems, improve reliability, and reduce technical debt.
Develop engineering leaders and teams by establishing clear ownership, operating practices, and technical standards.
Build platforms and tooling that enable product engineering teams to manage their own reliable data pipelines.
Partner with Analytics, Engineering, and Machine Learning teams to align priorities and evolve the data ecosystem.
What we're looking for
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
10+ years of relevant experience including at least 5 years of direct people management experience.
Experience leading a data engineering or data platform organization, including managing managers and multiple teams.
Experience leading the development and operation of shared data platforms or infrastructure for engineering teams.
Experience owning strategy and technical roadmaps for large-scale data infrastructure, database platforms, or distributed systems.
Experience leading data infrastructure modernization, architecture evolution, or technical-debt reduction in a production environment.
Knowledge of database engineering, data governance, data quality, and operational data architecture (preferred).
Experience partnering with or leading an Analytics Engineering function; working in financial services; or leading organizations through architectural changes (preferred).
Platform Engineering
DevOps
SRE
DataOps
MLOps
CI/CD
Infrastructure as Code
Kubernetes
AWS
Google Cloud Platform
Microsoft Azure
FinOps
Data Governance
Data Lake
Streaming Platforms