Principal Engineer, LLM
Core
Define and drive the multi-year technical roadmap for Upstart's Core GenAI Platform, shaping vision, architecture, and adoption strategy for LLMs across the organization.
Role type
Principal Engineer, GenAI/LLM (Strategy & Architecture)
Builds
Foundational GenAI platform enabling model inference, orchestration, and RAG architectures for internal engineering teams.
Domain
Financial Technology (Fintech) / Generative AI / Large Language Models
Deliverable
production ML models
Required skills
LLM infrastructure optimization (quantization, ONNX, streaming), scalable RAG architecture design, automated evaluation pipelines (LLM-as-a-judge), LLM toolchains (LangChain, LlamaIndex, OpenAI APIs), platform operationalization at scale, GenAI risk mitigation (hallucination, fairness, privacy)
Preferred skills
Model fine-tuning and alignment (RLHF/DPO), full-stack engineering (Python, FastAPI, Kotlin, Spring, React/TypeScript), backend systems and infrastructure (Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, cloud-native)
Technologies
ONNX, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Python, FastAPI, Kotlin, Spring, React, TypeScript
Responsibilities
Define and drive the multi-year technical roadmap for the Core GenAI Platform; Collaborate with CTO/VP-level leadership to influence business strategy with technical insight; Lead architecture and design of large-scale, mission-critical systems for model inference and orchestration; Identify and solve systemic technical risks impacting business-critical AI initiatives; Establish operational standards for GenAI integrations ensuring security and reliability; Mentor senior engineers and shape the growth of future technical leaders
Seniority
Principal, hands-on IC with strategic leadership
