Senior Manager, Product Design - Design Platform

About Upstart

Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace, partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. We run over one million predictions per borrower using more than 3,000 signals to power smarter, fairer decisions. We're proudly digital-first, with most Upstarters working remotely across 80+ cities in the US and Canada, alongside offices in Columbus, Austin, the Bay Area, and New York City (opening Summer 2026).

The Team

Upstart's Design Platform team owns the design system, platform strategy across web and native mobile, and AI-enabled tools that connect design to code. We sit within Product Design and work closely with frontend platform engineering.

About the Role

As Senior Manager on the Design Platform team, you will lead two senior designers with roughly 60% hands-on design and 40% people management. You will set the direction for Upstart's design system, shaping its component architecture, token strategy, and visual language, and build AI-enabled workflows that change how designers and engineers work day to day.

How You'll Make an Impact

• Shape the next generation of Upstart's design system, defining component architecture, token strategy, and visual language
• Define platform strategy across web and mobile app, deciding what should be shared and where each experience should feel distinct
• Explore AI-enabled design systems, turning emerging capabilities into new workflows, machine-readable standards, and tools
• Define how we measure impact, using data to guide priorities and build leadership support
• Establish the operating model for the Design Platform, creating clear ownership, governance, and contribution models
• Develop two senior designers as leaders and builders, providing context, feedback, and space for ambitious platform work
• Partner with engineering and product design leaders to rethink how products get built

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years of product design experience, including 2+ years of direct people management experience
• Experience building or substantially scaling a design system adopted across multiple product teams
• Experience defining design patterns or platform strategy across both web and native mobile experiences
• Experience owning design systems work across components, tokens, documentation, governance, and visual design direction
• Experience partnering directly with engineering on design system implementation, including component APIs and token architecture

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to prototype or contribute to component implementation
• Experience with AI-assisted design, prototyping, build tooling, or design-to-code workflows
• Knowledge of multi-platform theming and native mobile design systems across iOS and Android
• Analytical skills to use data to measure impact, identify insights, and inform decisions
• Business judgment to set priorities, make tradeoffs, and build leadership support
• Experience developing senior individual contributors and facilitating design critique

Pay

United States (Remote): $198,700 - $275,000 USD
Canada (Remote): $182,800 - $230,000 CAD

Actual base pay depends on geographic location and individual qualifications. In addition, Upstart provides target bonuses, equity compensation, and comprehensive benefits packages.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
• Retirement benefits with 401(k) or Group Retirement Savings Plan and company match of $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 annually
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options (US only)
• Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, vision, and wellness resources for US; supplemental health coverage for Canada
• Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans (US only)
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Paid time off, sick leave, and company holidays
• Paid family and parental leave
• Family-centered benefits for fertility, parenthood, and caregiving
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with mental health support
• Financial wellness resources including financial planning tools and concierge service (US only)
• Annual wellness allowance
• Annual productivity allowance
• Connection and community through team events, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
• Onsite perks including catered lunches and stocked micro-kitchens at offices in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026)

Schedule

Digital-first with remote work available. Most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days of in-person collaboration.