Director of Product Compliance

Headquarters: United States | Remote About Upstart Upstart is the 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 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload. 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; Austin, Texas; and New York City, NY (opening Summer 2026). 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:  Upstart’s Compliance organization plays a mission-critical role in enabling responsible innovation, protecting consumers, and supporting Upstart’s long-term growth. The Product Compliance team ensures that new and existing products—including and governance of a new, innovative unsecured lending product. You will serve as the primary compliance advisor to Product, Engineering, Operations, and executive leadership—ensuring Upstart’s products meet or exceed regulatory standards while supporting differentiated user experiences. You will act as a strategic partner shaping compliance strategy, policy development, and risk management across the product lifecycle. If you are excited by influencing product architecture, designing scalable compliance solutions, and building trusted relationships across a fast-moving fintech, this role is for you. How you’ll make an impact Program Ownership & Regulatory Governance Own and continuously enhance the product compliance framework including policies, procedures, and control design spanning marketing, origination, underwriting, servicing, collections, and credit reporting.Lead regulatory readiness by conducting risk assessments, gap analyses, and designing first-line scalable controls across technical and operational workflows.Develop key risk indicators (KRIs), metrics, and dashboards to provide insight into compliance health to executive leadership and the Board. Cross-Functional Influence & Stakeholder Management Act as a senior advisor to Product, Engineering, Ops, Legal, and Machine Learning teams—driving alignment across stakeholders while balancing customer experience, business needs, and regulatory expectations.Influence organizational decisions through clear, compelling communication of compliance risks, trade-offs, and recommendations.Represent Compliance in governance forums, product councils, and cross-functional initiatives. Operational Excellence & Issue Management Oversee root-cause analyses and remediation plans for compliance issues, ensuring durable fixes and strengthened controls.Partner with Legal, Internal Audit, and external regulatory exam teams to support audits, examinations, and responses to regulatory inquiries.Lead the development and delivery of scalable, role-based compliance training for impacted cross-functional partners. Team Building & Leadership Champion a compliance-first mindset across the company, driving early engagement and proactive risk identification. Minimum Qualifications  Bachelor’s degree 8+ years of experience in consumer lending, fintech, regulatory compliance, risk management, or financial services law, with deep expertise in unsecured credit products Expert knowledge of federal and state consumer lending laws and regulations, including TILA, ECOA, FCRA, FDCPA, EFTA, UDAAP, SCRA, MLA, Reg Z, Reg X, TCPA, NACHA, state-level lending and servicing laws, and unsecured credit considerations Proven experience advising on and launching/expanding technology-enabled lending or fintech products, ideally in a fast-paced, high-scale environment Demonstrated ability to partner with senior leaders and influence strategic decisions Preferred Qualifications Experience designing compliance controls for digital product flows, automated decisioning, and novel risk models Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder-management skills across technical and non-technical teams Proven ability to lead through ambiguity, drive organizational alignment, and manage competing priorities Strong problem-solving skills and business judgment, with a bias toward practical, risk-aligned solutions JD, CRCM, or other advanced compliance certifications are a plus   Position location: This role is available in the following locations: Remote  Time zone requirements: The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.  Travel requirements: As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live a