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.
About the role
Owns full-stack features independently — from technical design through implementation, testing, and
production monitoring — with light oversight.
What you'll do
• Design, build, and maintain features for the HRX Engineering (HR Experience) product surface
• Write clean, well-tested, maintainable code across the stack
• Participate in code review, sprint planning, and retros
• Partner with product and design to translate requirements into technical solutions
• Help monitor and improve the reliability, performance, and quality of shipped features
• Participate in on-call rotation and lead incident response for owned systems
• Provide technical guidance and code-review mentorship to less-tenured engineers
What we're looking for
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including full-stack work
• Demonstrated ability to design, build, and ship features spanning frontend, backend, and data layer with
minimal oversight
• Strong proficiency in at least one modern backend language/framework (e.g., Ruby on Rails, Node.js,
Python/Django) and one modern frontend framework (e.g., React, TypeScript)
• Solid understanding of relational databases — schema design, migrations, and query performance
• Comfortable owning a project end-to-end: scoping, technical design, implementation, testing,
deployment, and monitoring
• Strong grounding in software engineering fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, automated testing,
CI/CD
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with product managers, designers, and other engineers
• Clear written and verbal communication, including technical design docs
Nice to have
• Experience in HR tech, payroll, or fintech domains
• Experience designing REST or GraphQL APIs
• Exposure to accessibility (a11y) best practices
Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $197,000–$247,000 for New York. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.
At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Engineering, Design) and your scope of ownership (what you're accountable for) — which is why you'll see something like "Head of X" instead of a rank word like "Director" that tells you neither. Because of this, the title on this posting may look different from what you'd expect based on the scope and seniority of the role, and from how similar roles are typically titled elsewhere. If you have questions about how this role compares to your current title or level, your recruiter can help translate.
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.
Reliable, consistent presence: We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve.
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+ years of professional software engineering experience, including full-stack work
- Ability to design, build, and ship frontend, backend, and data-layer features with minimal oversight
- Proficiency in at least one modern backend language or framework, such as Ruby on Rails, Node.js, or Python/Django
- Proficiency in at least one modern frontend framework, such as React or TypeScript
- Understanding of relational databases, including schema design, migrations, and query performance
- Ability to own projects end-to-end, including scoping, technical design, implementation, testing, deployment, and monitoring
- Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, automated testing, and CI/CD
- Experience partnering with product managers, designers, and engineers
- Clear written and verbal communication, including technical design documentation
- Experience in HR technology, payroll, or fintech
- Experience designing REST or GraphQL APIs
- Exposure to accessibility best practices
What the Team is Saying
Gusto Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is presented as comprehensive, including medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents, plus mental health resources and family‑planning and gender‑affirming care. Plan options are described as broad and generally well regarded.
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Parental & Family Support — Family support is emphasized through paid parental leave alongside fertility and family‑planning benefits. These offerings are often highlighted as a strong point of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes paid vacation, sick time, holidays, bereavement leave, additional paid leaves, and sabbaticals. The breadth of leave is commonly portrayed as a meaningful advantage.
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.
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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.
