Senior Staff AI Software Engineer

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 300,000 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. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.

About the Role:

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

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Build Gusto’s agentic AI applications.
• Imagine a world where the small business back office is made 10x more efficient through AI agents.
• Work with Gusto’s co-founder to ship code that turns this into a reality.
• Mentor and provide guidance to other AI software engineers, fostering their growth and development.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 12+ years of software development experience.
• Expertise in Agentic AI, Machine Learning, and LLMs is essential. You should have broad experience in deploying models or applications.
• A startup/founder mindset – comfortable with ambiguity, risk-taking, and operating in a high-intensity environment.
• 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.