Director, Strategic Finance

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 1,800 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 (opening Summer 2026), 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 Role: Upstart is building innovative products that expand access to credit. The Finance team plays a critical role in shaping business decisions, aligning strategy with execution, and ensuring financial discipline as products scale. This Director, Strategic Finance will serve as the primary day-to-day finance and strategy partner to the Small Dollar Loan leadership team, providing analytical insight, financial rigor, and cross-functional coordination as the business evolves. The role spans strategic planning, business analytics, financial performance management, and execution of high-impact initiatives. You will operate at the center of decision-making—developing business cases, diagnosing performance trends, and helping translate strategy into action across Product, Engineering, Operations, Capital Markets, Analytics, and Go-To-Market teams. How you’ll make an impact Strategic Partnership Business Leadership Serve as the primary finance and strategy partner to SDL business leaders, ensuring alignment between strategy, financial outcomes, and execution Act as a connective tissue across Product, Engineering, Operations, Analytics, Capital Markets, and GTM teams to drive clarity and accountability Facilitate structured prioritization and trade-off discussions to focus resources on the highest-impact initiatives Strategy Development Financial Analysis Identify, evaluate, and size strategic opportunities, growth initiatives, and investment decisions Build rigorous business cases, financial models, and scenario analyses to support go/no-go decisions Partner with cross-functional teams to scope initiatives, align stakeholders, and drive recommendations through execution Business Performance Management Insights Own ongoing financial and operational performance tracking for the SDL business Monitor key metrics, identify emerging trends or risks, and lead root-cause analyses when performance deviates from expectations Translate complex data into clear insights and actionable recommendations for senior leadership Financial Planning Operational Rigor Support short- and long-term financial planning, forecasting, and budget management for the SDL business Partner with FPA and Accounting to ensure accurate forecasting, reporting, and transparency Improve reporting, tooling, and analytical infrastructure to support scalable decision-making Minimum Qualifications ... (truncated, view full listing at source)