Director of Fair Lending

The Team: 

The Fair Lending team sits within Upstart’s broader Risk and Compliance organization and plays a critical role in enabling responsible innovation while expanding access to affordable credit. The team partners closely with Legal Product Machine Learning and Compliance to assess manage and mitigate fair lending risk across Upstart’s products features and services.

As the team lead this role sets the strategic direction for the Fair Lending program ensuring strong governance consistency and execution across initiatives. It leads and develops team members drives cross-functional alignment and serves as the primary point of accountability for maintaining a rigorous resilient and scalable fair lending framework.

How you’ll make an impact

• Own the fair lending risk assessment framework and provide independent challenge and guidance on control design across Upstart’s products features and services identifying evaluating and escalating risks in close partnership with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Define and execute a comprehensive fair lending risk assessment program that supports regulatory compliance and Upstart’s mission to expand access to credit responsibly.
• Leverage data analytics and monitoring outputs to identify emerging risk themes and inform proactive mitigation strategies.
• Provide subject matter expertise guidance and coverage across fair lending initiatives supporting execution and progress in a fast-moving highly regulated environment.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives and working groups on a project basis driving alignment clarity and risk-informed outcomes on complex and ambiguous issues.
• Influence decision-making by maintaining deep current knowledge of regulatory expectations and industry best practices and by translating risk insights into clear actionable guidance.
• Communicate key fair lending risk themes assessments and insights to senior leadership and relevant governance forums including the Fair Lending and board level committees.

Minimum Qualifications 

• 10+ years of progressive experience in fair lending and consumer protection compliance (e.g. in compliance legal audit or risk management) within financial services or fintech including direct ownership of ECOA/FHA programs testing and remediation.
• Deep expert-level knowledge of fair lending and consumer protection laws and guidance (ECOA FHA FCRA UDAAP privacy) and how they apply across the credit lifecycle (marketing underwriting pricing servicing collections).
• Hands-on experience designing and operationalizing second-line risk management or compliance programs including risk identification control design testing and monitoring training and enablement and third-party oversight.
• Proven track record leading enterprise-wide fair lending or consumer protection initiatives influencing senior and cross-functional stakeholders and engaging effectively with regulators external auditors or monitors on fair lending matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with modern predictive modeling techniques and associated governance privacy and fairness considerations
• Comfort partnering with technical teams to operationalize compliance expectations in technology-enabled environments
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with the ability to translate complex regulatory and risk topics for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience implementing regulatory exam management tools evidence repositories or data-driven compliance workflows
• Strong organizational judgment attention to detail and ability to operate effectively under regulatory scrutiny
• JD CRCM or other advanced compliance or risk management certifications

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.

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What We Do

Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace connecting millions of consumers to more than 100 banks and credit unions that leverage Upstart’s AI models and cloud applications to deliver superior credit products. With Upstart's AI lenders can approve more borrowers at lower rates across races ages and genders while delivering the exceptional digital-first experience customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly with zero documentation to upload. Founded in 2012 Upstart’s platform includes personal loans automotive retail and refinance loans home equity lines of credit and small-dollar “relief” loans. If you are energized by the impact you think you could make at Upstart we'd love to hear from you!

Why Work With Us

Connection to our mission creates a special environment where people feel passionately about the impact they make in the world. Upstart is fast-paced and we encourage ownership at all levels of the organization. As a result culture at Upstart is driven by Upstarters. Upstarters are proactive talented multi-dimensional and collaborative.

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