Legal Counsel Lead, Capital Markets

R-7154
Legal Group

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: Upstart’s capital markets legal team is at the forefront of creating innovative deal structures that drive our business forward. We negotiate deals that push the envelope on deal terms in a thoughtful, strategic manner. By partnering with the capital markets business team, we exert a tremendous impact on the overall amount of funding that Upstart is able to obtain each year. As the Lead Counsel, Capital Markets at Upstart, you will work with counterparties across Upstart including members of the product, operations, compliance, accounting, tax, treasury and finance teams. You will work on bilateral deals, small club deals, broadly syndicated deals and everything in between. How you’ll make an impact

Support the capital markets and finance teams in purchase and sale agreements, securitization transactions, other liquidity arrangements and day-to-day operational and legal support
Review, draft and negotiate a variety of transactional documents opposite sophisticated institutional investors, including asset managers, private equity funds, hedge funds and pension funds
Manage deal flow and work with outside counsel in structuring and executing various securitization transactions, including pass-throughs and asset-backed securitizations
Collaborate with a variety of internal and external stakeholders (including other members of the legal team) as new products are launched, ensuring consistency across documents and providing subject matter expertise over capital markets and investor channels
Develop processes and maintain/ improve templates for transactions to support and drive rapidly growing business
Partner with product-regulatory colleagues to anticipate and address regulatory cross-winds
Create internal education on a variety of legal risks

Minimum Qualifications

J.D. degree with solid academic credentials and a state bar membership
12 years of work experience, including both large law firm and in-house experience (in structured finance, debt finance or similar)
Self-starter who is comfortable working in a fast-moving environment with competing priorities and possesses a “can-do” attitude
Experienced in drafting and negotiating sophisticated transactional documents
Strong communication skills with a demonstrated ability to effectively and proactively provide quick, concise, and practical legal advice
Eager to develop expertise in new or unfamiliar products and areas of lawTeam player – no egos

Preferred Qualifications

Prior experience at a fintech company focused on lending /credit markets
CA or NY bar membership
Proven ability to develop scalable processes and procedures

Position location Remote Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones. Travel requirements As a digital first company,...