Research Scientist - Auto

About Upstart

Upstart is a leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than two-thirds of Upstart loans are approved instantly and are fully automated.

Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.

Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!

The Team: 

The ML Auto team builds production ML models to underwrite all auto loans issued by Upstart. These models assess the true risk of our borrowers using the latest methodologies and are at the core of the company value creation.

As a Research Scientist in ML Auto at Upstart, you will work in a fast-paced team with a focus on feature research, model improvement and model deployment. You will directly work on business critical models, contribute to some of the most important business metrics and tackle some of the following challenges:

• Develop new model architectures
• Understand and develop features from new data sources
• Understand the impact of the macroeconomic environment on our borrowers
• Work in a startup within the broader Upstart organization

How you’ll make an impact

Autonomously develop and deploy production modelsContribute to a high-quality modeling codebase in PythonQuickly prototype and test ideasResearch novel modeling techniquesWork collaboratively with a cross-functional team consisting of research scientists, software engineers and product managers

Minimum Qualifications 

• Excellent critical thinking
• Bachelor’s degree in a scientific discipline (Math, Physics, Computer Science)
• 2+ years of experience in Machine Learning or a similar field
• Proficiency in a programming language (Python preferred)
• Proficiency in Statistical/Probability/Machine Learning theory
• Ability to communicate effectively to a non-technical audience

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters or PhD in a quantitative discipline (Math, Physics, Economics, Computer Science)
• 4+ years of experience in Machine Learning or a similar field
• Experience …