Senior Software Engineer, Delivery

As a Senior Software Engineer at Upstart, you will be responsible for architecting and building tools that enhance our AI lending products and streamline the deployment process. Your tasks will include identifying inefficiencies in our systems, collaborating with product teams to deliver high-quality solutions, and conducting data analysis to inform ongoing improvements. You’ll also develop software deployment strategies and maintain CI/CD pipelines to ensure our systems operate smoothly.

To qualify for the Senior Software Engineer role at Upstart, you should have a minimum of five years of experience in modern web application development, specifically with languages and frameworks such as Kotlin, Typescript, or Python. Additionally, you should possess at least three years of experience in AWS resources, CI/CD systems, monitoring web applications, and hands-on work with Kubernetes. Familiarity with Linux and CI/CD best practices will be beneficial as well.

Upstart values work-life balance, offering a remote work environment for their Senior Software Engineer role, which allows flexibility in working hours. Regular on-site collaboration sessions are held a few times each quarter at various locations across the U.S., with Upstart covering all travel-related expenses. This approach helps maintain team cohesion while respecting personal time.

The team culture at Upstart is collaborative and innovation-driven, focusing on maximizing product engineering velocity and value. Team members are encouraged to engage in open dialogue, conduct customer interviews, and explore data to refine their tools and processes continuously. This supportive environment fosters creativity and allows every engineer to take ownership of their projects, making a tangible impact on the company’s mission.

Upstart invests in the growth and development of its employees, offering various career development opportunities for Senior Software Engineers. Employees can participate in training programs, conferences, and workshops to enhance their skills and stay ahead in the tech landscape. Moreover, the company promotes an engaging culture where team members are encouraged to take on new challenges and responsibilities as they evolve in their careers.

When discussing your experience with CI/CD systems, focus on specific platforms and technologies you’ve used, like Jenkins or GitHub Actions. Explain your role in setting up and maintaining these systems, as well as any unique challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Highlight your approach to automating deployment processes and the impact it had on improving the overall workflow.

In your response, reference specific monitoring tools like DataDog or AWS CloudWatch, and explain why you find them effective. Discuss how these tools have helped you ensure performance and address issues proactively. Providing examples of situations where your monitoring efforts led to meaningful improvements will demonstrate your expertise.

Share your systematic approach to identifying pain points, such as gathering feedback from team members or analyzing performance data. Discuss specific examples of tools or strategies you implemented to streamline processes and how your solutions resulted in measurable improvements to deployment efficiency.

Outline a project you led from initial planning to successful deployment, detailing the strategies you used. Include information on the technologies involved, challenges faced, and the outcomes. Emphasize any innovative techniques you employed to ensure high availability and reliability during the process.

Discuss your hands-on experience with Kubernetes, focusing on how you’ve utilized it to manage containerized applications. Highlight key projects where Kubernetes greatly benefited the deployment process, along with any specific challenges you tackled while working with it and how you resolved them.

Explain your methods for keeping current, such as engaging in developer communities, attending conferences, or participating in online courses. Share any specific blogs, podcasts, or resources you regularly follow, illustrating your commitment to professional development and staying at the forefront of technology.

Describe your approach to ensuring software quality, touching on practices such as unit testing, code reviews, and automated testing. Discuss how these practices help maintain high standards and any personal experiences where your focus on quality had a significant impact on a project’s success.

Talk about your problem-solving methodology, emphasizing the importance of communication and transparency. Provide an example where you faced an unexpected issue, how you quickly assessed the situation, and the steps you took to address it while minimizing downtime.

Share your experiences working with cross-functional teams, emphasizing communication strategies and tools used to ensure alignment. Discuss specific projects where collaboration was crucial, detailing your contributions and how you facilitated teamwork between developers, product managers, and stakeholders.

Reflect on your passion for optimizing processes and enabling teams to deliver high-quality products efficiently. Share your thoughts on how a delivery-focused approach contributes to overall company success, and provide motivational insights that resonate with Upstart's mission.