About Gusto
At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.
All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.
AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.
The Data Engineering team builds tools and systems that make Gusto's data consistent, user-friendly, and helpful. This helps our teams make decisions using data and provide intelligent, customized experiences to our customers.
We're looking for a Senior Data Engineer who can take loosely defined problems and drive them end-to-end—from framing the problem and aligning stakeholders to designing, building, and delivering durable data solutions. You’ll partner closely with analytics, product, and engineering teams to deliver data solutions that drive real business and customer impact.
Preferred Qualifications- 8-10+ years of industry experience in data engineering building scalable data pipelines and data products
- Strong proficiency in SQL and at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Scala, or Java)
- Proven experience building and maintaining robust data pipelines and ETL workflows, with hands-on dbt experience for reliable, testable, and maintainable data transformations.
- Hands-on experience ingesting data from diverse sources, including APIs, databases, SaaS applications, and event streams.
- Strong foundation in data modeling, schema design, and data quality best practices, with functional experience working on cloud platforms like Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, or Databricks.
- Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and data observability to ensure reliability and trust in data systems
- Familiarity with monitoring, alerting, and incident response for production-grade data pipelines
- Proven ability to optimize performance and cost across data workflows and storage systems
- Functional understanding of how to leverage AI and automation in data engineering — building self-service tools, intelligent pipelines, and agents that automate repetitive tasks
- Exemplar problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a focus on clarity, empathy, and shared ownership
Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $155,000-$185,000/yr in Denver, $170,000-$200,000/yr in Los Angeles, and $190,000-$220,000/yr for San Francisco, Seattle, and New York. 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. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.
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.
Skills Required
- 8-10+ years of industry experience in data engineering building scalable data pipelines and data products
- Strong proficiency in SQL and at least one programming language (e.g., Python, Scala, or Java)
- Proven experience building and maintaining robust data pipelines and ETL workflows, with hands-on dbt experience
- Hands-on experience ingesting data from diverse sources, including APIs, databases, SaaS applications, and event streams
- Strong foundation in data modeling, schema design, and data quality best practices, with functional experience working on cloud platforms like Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, or Databricks
- Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and data observability
- Familiarity with monitoring, alerting, and incident response for production-grade data pipelines
- Proven ability to optimize performance and cost across data workflows and storage systems
- Functional understanding of how to leverage AI and automation in data engineering
- Exemplar problem-solving skills and ability to work collaboratively in cross-functional teams
- Strong communication and collaboration skills, with a focus on clarity, empathy, and shared ownership
What the Team is Saying
Gusto Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage is highlighted, alongside mental-health resources, family planning and fertility support, gender-affirming care, and abortion travel assistance. Availability of HSAs/FSAs and integrated care elements further reinforce the health pillar.
-
Parental & Family Support — Robust parental leave, adoption assistance, childcare benefits, and a structured return-to-work program are emphasized. Additional supports like sleep coaching and house cleaning for new parents broaden this safety net.
-
Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid vacation, sick time, bereavement leave, holidays, and sabbaticals are part of the package. A flexible PTO approach is also described, encouraging time away as needed.
Gusto Insights
What We Do
Gusto is a modern, online small business 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. 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.
Why Work With Us
We help small businesses—the backbone of the economy—thrive. Everything we do ladders up to empowering entrepreneurs and supporting their teams. Gusto empowers builders at every level to take initiative and make things better. You'll be solving meaningful challenges that shape the future of work.
Gallery
Gusto Teams
Gusto Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
We’ve built an inclusive, connected culture—no matter where you live. Whether near an office or remote, you’ll find opportunities to connect, grow, and belong. Employees work from the office on 2 designated days per week.
