A Day in the Life at Upstart: Coding the Future of Credit

Every day, Upstarters push the boundaries of what’s possible by using AI to remake the lending process, working to improve access for all. But what does that look like in practice? We asked two Upstart engineers, Steph Skardal and Diego Accame, to bring us along for a “day in the life” to see firsthand how they solve complex problems, embrace our digital-first work environment, and shape the future of credit.

Diego Accame, who will celebrate his third Upstart anniversary in April, is a Director of Engineering on our Growth Vertical. His teams focus on the technology that works across all of our products and focus on the entire customer lifecycle from acquisition to conversion to engagement. They work hand-in-hand with the our Marketing and Machine Learning teams on ways to optimizing user experiences to help our customers on their journey to get loans.

Upstart’s mission to “improve access to credit for all” is what attracted Diego to the company.

“I chose to join Upstart because I do my best work when I know it's helping improve others’ lives,” he says. “Credit is a powerful lever, and when used correctly, it can let people get ahead and improve their quality of life”. 

Steph Skardal is a Distinguished Software Engineer who supports our Servicing team, developing and maintaining the technology that powers Upstart’s loans to enhance the borrower experience. Steph’s focus is automating key elements of the borrower experience, and her team is currently exploring the use of large language models (LLMs) to support internal processes and manage borrower interactions. Since joining Upstart in January 2020, she has seen her impact grow—most recently by working on the launch of Upstart’s mobile app and witnessing the ongoing evolution of their work through new updates.

Our digital-first approach

Upstart’s digital-first culture empowers Upstarters to work from anywhere while fostering intentional, in-person collaboration through gatherings and team offsites (like our most recent company all-hands, Upstart Live). This flexibility empowers employees to balance professional impact with personal priorities.

For Steph, that means structuring her day around her family and workout before diving into her highest priorities: “Project management, writing code, supporting peers, interacting with stakeholders, refining product requirements, and more. Every day is different—sometimes my focus is on production support, while others I’m launching or refining new work.”

Diego, who enjoys cooking, appreciates the extra time he’s gained not having a commute, which allows him to experiment with new recipes and host friends for a meal. Last year, he took advantage of Upstart’s policy supporting employees to work from another country for a few weeks per year and went to Peru to spend time with his parents.

“Being digital-first allows me a lot of flexibility to be more connected to my family,” he says.

Our values

At Upstart, we don’t just focus on what we build, we also pay close attention to how we build it. Our core values serve as guiding principles for every Upstarter:

• Every second counts
• Do the right thing even when it’s hard
• Make clever use of numbers
• Be smart but know you might be wrong
• Don’t assume it can’t be done 

The value that resonates most with both Steph and Diego is “Every second counts.” At Upstart, transforming the lending process requires a bias for action.

“I only have so much time in the day, so I’m frequently recalibrating the greatest impact I can drive in that time,” says Steph.

Diego adds, “One of the reasons I became a software engineer is because of the magic of being able to see results from your work almost instantly! I love seeing the progress our team makes every day and brainstorming ways we can move even faster.”

Life at Upstart

Upstart’s values shape our culture, influencing day-to-day interactions between Upstarters as we collaborate on complex challenges, build connection in person or virtually, or come together every Friday as a company for TGIF (Upstart’s weekly online all hands). And that’s on top of all the Slack messages, Zoom meetings, and emails in between.

Diego’s favorite meeting of the day is his team’s daily standup, which is right after his lunch. “I’m a big craft chocolate fan, and I have my daily chocolate while being in that meeting. It makes an already great time with my team even better.”

For Steph, a favorite Upstart tradition is "bananigans." It's a homegrown term for a special blend of banter and shenanigans that kicks off many meetings. “I love seeing how much small talk a meeting owner will tolerate before steering us back to business,” she says. And then there are the Slack channels. Diego is a regular in #dogs and #dad-jokes, while Steph enjoys the cryptic humor of a channel where Upstarters share out-of-context meeting quotes.

A particularly fun Upstart tradition? Custom party GIFs for Diego:

“At one point when you do something particularly impressive, your teammates will create a party gif emoji of you. It’s a special moment when you start seeing people reacting to messages with your dancing face as its own personal party emoji.”

Build the future of credit at Upstart

A pillar of Upstart’s culture is continuous learning and professional growth. Employees are encouraged to take charge of their development and leverage Upstart’s learning and leadership programs.

For Steph, growth has meant thriving as an individual contributor, a path that aligns well with her strengths and Upstart’s needs. She also mentors others, advising them to “focus on the intersection of passion, skills, and impact opportunities at Upstart.”

Diego is passionate about supporting his team’s career development while also expanding the team for Upstart’s future.

“We are actively hiring for our marketing platform team, where we have an ambitious goal to do a full makeover of the platform that powers how we reach out to all of our customers,” he says. “We’re also building a new team focused on our existing borrowers and enabling them to seamlessly access our full suite of products.”

If you’re passionate about AI, expanding access to credit, and tackling complex challenges, we’d love to have you join us. Explore our open roles and join us in shaping the future of lending!