Senior Customer Contact Specialist
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 Team:
As a Senior Customer Contact Specialist at Upstart, you’ll be part of a multi-skilled team that supports applicants across phone, email, and other digital channels throughout the pre-origination journey. You’ll handle a wide range of regulatory, general, and complex application-related inquiries, with a primary focus on resolving escalations from our frontline vendor support team. In this role, you’ll serve as a subject matter expert on our products and procedures—answering associate questions in Slack, contributing to scripts and templates, and ensuring every interaction meets our quality, compliance, and SLA expectations.
How you’ll make an impact
- Respond to inbound email/phone inquiries and manage real-time chat support (in future-state implementation), providing accurate, helpful, and timely information.
- Take ownership of escalation calls from applicants requesting a supervisor, resolving concerns professionally while adhering to compliance and policy guidelines.
- Act as a subject matter expert by answering questions from our vendor support teams via slack.
- Support funnel conversion by proactively identifying and addressing common applicant questions or pain points.
- Maintain accurate notes of all applicant interactions to ensure visibility and alignment across teams.
- Identify opportunities to improve CX processes, documentation, or messaging based on recurring feedback or support trends.
Minimum Qualifications
- 1–2 years of experience in customer service and/or contact center support within a financial services or fintech environment.
- Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain complex information clearly and professionally.
- Proven ability to handle sensitive or escalated customer conversations with empathy and professionalism.
- Comfortable navigating multiple systems and tools simultaneously (e.g., Salesforce, Vesta, telephony and chat platforms).
- Demonstrated expertise in time management, effectively prioritizing and balancing competing tasks to meet tight deadlines.
- Impeccable judgment and acute attention to detail; ability to identify/anticipate customers’ needs and clarify information.
- Proven track record of excelling in a metric based environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Financial services industry experience.
- Familiarity with front-line customer support tools and knowledge management platforms.
- Comfort working in high-growth, change-oriented environments where feedback loops are fast and frequent.
- Previous experience providing service for multiple product lines
Position location This role is available in the following locations: Columbus, OH.
Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.
- The open shift times that we currently have are:
- Tuesday-Saturday: 11:30-8pm (EST)
- Sunday-Thursday: 11:30-8pm (EST)
- Tuesday-Saturday: 9-5:30pm (EST)
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.
This is a Non-Exempt position. Employees in this position are paid an hourly pay rate, on a bi-weekly basis, and are eligible to receive overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 in a work week, or over 8 in a work day if required by state law.
Columbus, OH - Anticipated Hourly Rate Range
$25.48—$25.48 USD
What you'll love
At Upstart, our benefits are designed to support your health, financial well-being, family, and personal growth. Here’s what you can expect:
- Competitive compensation, including base pay, bonus opportunities, and annual equity grants that vest quarterly
- Generous 401(k) plan with Upstart matching $2 for every $1 contributed, up to $15,000 per year
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with discounted stock purchase options for eligible employees
- Affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, with multiple plan options - Upstart covers 90% to 100% of the cost depending on the plans you choose
- Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart for eligible plans
- Income protection benefits, including company-paid Basic Life, AD&D, and Short- and Long-Term Disability coverage, with options to purchase supplemental coverage
- Paid time off, sick and safe time, and company holidays
- Paid family and parental leave to support caregiving and major life moments
- Family-centered benefits through Carrot and Cleo, supporting fertility, parenthood, and caregiving
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offering mental health support and life-centered resources
- Financial wellness resources, including access to financial planning tools and a financial concierge service
- Annual wellness allowance to support your physical and emotional well-being and personal development, based on what matters most to you
- Annual productivity allowance to invest in relevant tools and resources you need to do your best work, no matter where you work from
- Connection and community through team events and onsites, all-company updates, and employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Onsite perks, including catered lunches and fully stocked micro-kitchens when working from one of our four offices, located in the Bay Area, Austin, Columbus, and New York City (opening Summer 2026!).
Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Just as we are dedicated to improving access to affordable credit for all, we are committed to inclusive and fair hiring practices.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please email candidate_accommodations@upstart.com