Senior Staff AI Software Engineer

About Gusto

Gusto is a modern, online people platform that helps small businesses take care of their teams. On top of full-service payroll, Gusto offers health insurance, 401(k)s, expert HR, and team management tools. Today, Gusto offices in Denver, San Francisco, and New York serve more than 400,000 businesses nationwide.

Our mission is to create a world where work empowers a better life, and it starts right here at Gusto. That’s why we’re committed to building a collaborative and inclusive workplace, both physically and virtually. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy .

About the Team:

We’re hiring Senior Staff AI Software Engineers to build the future of the small business back office, powered by AI agents. Our team’s mission is to create AI-driven solutions that make small business owners 10x more efficient. This team operates like a startup within Gusto, where you’ll report directly to Gusto’s co-founder/Head of Technology.

We welcome experienced Senior Staff Full Stack Engineers who are passionate about AI and excited to dive into this space. While prior AI experience is a plus, it is not a hard requirement. If you have a strong software engineering background and a desire to work on cutting-edge AI applications, we’d love to hear from you.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered applications to enhance small business operations.
• Collaborate closely with Gusto’s co-founder and a high-impact team to build and ship production-quality code.
• Contribute to architectural decisions and best practices for AI-driven systems.
• Stay on top of industry trends in AI and machine learning, integrating relevant advancements into our solutions.
• Mentor and provide guidance to engineers, helping them grow their expertise in AI and software development.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 12+ years of software development experience, with a strong background in Full Stack or Backend development.
• Proficiency in modern programming languages and frameworks (e.g., Python, Ruby, TypeScript, React, etc.).
• Experience building scalable, high-performance distributed systems.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.
• Passion for AI-driven technologies. Experience with AI, machine learning, or LLMs is highly preferred.
• A startup/founder mindset – comfortable with ambiguity, risk-taking, and operating in a high-intensity environment.

If you’re a talented engineer eager to shape the future of AI-powered business solutions, we encourage you to apply!

• Role is hybrid in 2-3 days a week in San Francisco or New York offices only. Remote is not available for this position.
• Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $225,000/yr to $279,000/yr for San Francisco and New York. Stock equity is additional. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto.

Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.

Gusto takes security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please review our Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer .

Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject to Gusto's Applicant Privacy Notice .