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Upstart Verified
FinTech, Artificial Intelligence, Lending

Diligence Program Lead

RemoteRemoteFull TimeLead$99,800–$138,000 /yrPosted 1 month agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

  • diligence
  • change management
  • due diligence questionnaires
  • document library
  • access controls
  • policy updates
  • procedure updates
  • model updates
  • compliance
  • legal

Nice to have

  • consumer lending
  • personal loans
  • auto loans
  • home equity
  • model risk management practices
  • third-party risk management

Role summary

Upstart is seeking a Diligence Program Lead to own and manage their lending partner diligence and change management programs. This role involves responding to due diligence questionnaires, maintaining documentation, and managing updates to policies, procedures, and models. The Lead will collaborate with various internal teams (Compliance, Legal, Product, Partnerships) to streamline manual processes, implement tooling, and ensure accurate reporting. The position requires a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, 5 years in financial services compliance/risk/audit/due diligence, and 2 years of experience with due diligence questionnaires or regulatory requests from financial institutions. Experience with document management systems and owning recurring operational processes is also necessary. Preferred qualifications include knowledge of consumer lending, model risk management, and third-party risk management, as well as skills in generative AI and process automation.

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:

Upstart’s Partner Implementation & Enablement team is responsible for bringing new bank and credit union partners onto our platform and keeping existing partners equipped to run their lending programs. We own the operational core of the partner relationship: the diligence materials partners use to evaluate us, the change management process that tells them when our policies and models change, and the systems that deliver both. How quickly a partner can launch, and how much confidence they have in us once they have launched, is decided by this team’s work.

As the Diligence Program Lead at Upstart, you will own the diligence and change management programs our lending partners depend on. You will answer the due diligence questionnaires that partners and their examiners require, maintain the document library and access controls behind them, and run the recurring process that notifies partners when our policies, procedures, and models change. You will work across Compliance, Lending Partnerships, Account Management, and Product to turn a set of manual, individually held processes into programs that hold up as the partner base grows.

How you’ll make an impact

  • Own the lending partner change management program end to end: assemble each release, notify partners of policy, procedure, and model updates, and keep the supporting document libraries current.
  • Respond to lending partner due diligence questionnaires and information requests, working with Compliance, Legal, and Model Risk Management to source and verify every answer.
  • Maintain the partner-facing document repository and its access controls, including which materials each partner can reach based on their product mix and stage in the relationship.
  • Run the recurring corrective action reporting cycle: validate the source data, distribute partner-specific reports, and confirm delivery with the teams that publish them.
  • Work with Product to move manual diligence and change management workflows onto supported tooling, and document each process so more than one person can run it.
  • Identify gaps in policy ownership and documentation approval status, and raise them with Compliance and Lending Partnerships before they reach a partner.
  • Minimum Qualificationsu

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience
  • 5 years of experience in financial services compliance, risk, audit, or third-party due diligence
  • 2 years of experience responding to due diligence questionnaires, regulatory examinations, or audit requests from banks, credit unions, or other regulated institutions
  • Experience owning a recurring operational or reporting process end to end, including its documentation
  • Experience administering a document management system, virtual data room, or other controlled-access content repository
  • Preferred Qualifications

  • Knowledge of consumer lending products and the policies that govern them, including personal loans, auto, and home equity
  • Knowledge of model risk management practices and how model documentation is shared with third parties
  • Knowledge of third-party risk management expectations at banks and credit unions
  • Skilled in using generative AI tools to draft, verify, and maintain large volumes of written documentation
  • Ability to build process automation in spreadsheet or workflow tools and hand it off to others to run
  • Ability to influence across compliance, legal, product, and commercial teams without direct authority
  • 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-REMOTE

    #LI-Associate

    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$99,800—$138,000 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

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