Principal Data Scientist, Marketing Measurement
Upstart, an AI lending marketplace, is hiring a Principal Data Scientist to lead marketing measurement: owning incrementality tests, causal inference, attribution, and marketing mix modeling to guide how marketing and finance allocate ad spend. Requires deep quantitative experience with strong Python and SQL, remote within the US.
- Compensation
- $182.3K–$252.5K / yr
- Location
- United States | Remote
- Work setup
- Remote
- Seniority
- Principal
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- 8+ years
- Category
- Data science
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 8+ years of experience in data science or a related quantitative role, much of it spent measuring marketing or growth spend
- Hands-on experience designing and analyzing incrementality tests, and a solid grasp of causal inference beyond standard A/B testing
- Working knowledge of marketing mix modeling and multi-touch attribution, including where each one breaks down
- Strong Python and SQL skills
- A track record of measurement work that changed how a marketing budget was spent
- Clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences, and the judgment to push back when the evidence doesn't support the plan
- Good judgment about when a result is solid enough to act on and when it needs another test
- Ability to work independently, scope your own projects, and drive them end to end in ambiguous situations
Nice to have
- PhD or master's degree in statistics, economics, computer science, or another quantitative field
- Familiarity with AI tools that speed up analysis and reporting
Full description
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 3,000 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, 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:
Marketing Science sits within Upstart's Growth, Product, and Ops Analytics team and partners with growth marketing on every channel that brings borrowers to Upstart: direct mail, paid search and social, video, mobile, email, brand campaigns, and lending partnerships. Our job is to tell the business which of those dollars are working, and then help decide where the next one goes.
As our Marketing Measurement lead, you'll own how Upstart answers some key questions about its marketing spend. What did each channel actually cause? How should credit be shared across the touches a borrower saw before applying? Where should next quarter's budget go? The answers decide whether a dollar of spend buys a funded loan or takes credit for one that would have arrived anyway.
We're looking for a data scientist with deep experience in causal inference and marketing measurement to be the measurement partner for our marketing, finance, and product leaders, and the person they trust to say when the evidence is strong enough to move the budget.
How you’ll make an impact
- Guide incrementality measurement across our marketing channels, working with the analysts who run tests in each channel on design and interpretation, so the team knows what each channel causes rather than what it gets credit for