Art Director, Performance

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:

Upstart’s Brand & Creative team shapes how the brand comes to life across every touchpoint — defining our voice, personality, and emotional connection with borrowers and partners. We sit within Growth, designing and creating for impact across all channels, from the digital surfaces where consumers first discover us to the campaigns and brand systems that make Upstart trusted and remembered.

As the Art Director, Performance at Upstart, you’ll create high-impact creative across our Paid Social channels, including Meta, TikTok, Google, and emerging channels. Partnering closely with Marketing and Creative, you’ll develop best-in-class work across evergreen and influencer programs with both in-house teams and external agency partners. You’ll combine performance insights, channel best practices, and brand expertise to create innovative work that drives the future growth of Upstart.

How you’ll make an impact

Lead the creative vision and execution across Paid Social channels, ensuring design excellence, platform relevance, and brand consistency across all creative assets.

Stay informed on performance and testing results, applying learnings to generate creative hypotheses, inform future assets, and proactively develop new creative tests.

Partner cross-functionally and with external agencies to concept, design, and deliver best-in-class evergreen and influencer creative that drives measurable results.

Strengthen creative systems and workflows to improve speed, scalability, consistency, and output as channels evolve.

Apply generative AI throughout the creative process to accelerate ideation and asset development while maintaining strong creative judgment and oversight.

Minimum Qualifications

7+ years of experience in art direction, design, or a related creative discipline.

Portfolio demonstrating excellence in leading and executing best-in-class, high-impact performance creative across paid social channels.

Strong knowledge of channel-specific creative best practices, with experience using performance data and structured testing to inform creative decisions, iterations, and future optimization.

Expert-level proficiency in design software (Adobe Creative Suite and Figma), with experience using AI-assisted design tools and workflows.

Bachelor’s degree in Design, Visual Communications, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Ability to organize and lead multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Skilled in collaborating with cross-functional partners and managing external agency or vendor relationships.

Ability to clearly articulate creative decisions and recommendations to creative and non-creative stakeholders.