Principal AI Software Engineer, Product

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.
That’s why we’re committed to building a collaborative and inclusive workplace, both physically and virtually. We are looking for someone to help us accelerate our payroll mission via intelligent use and integration of conversational and agentic AI into the products that serve small and medium business owners and their teams. This person should not only be familiar with AI technologies but should have experience applying them to enhance existing product experiences.
Payroll is the beating heart of Gusto’s business. Payroll Services teams are responsible for the product, ops, and service components Gusto uses to onboard customers, process payrolls, calculate taxes & deductions, pay and file with tax agencies, and maintain compliance on behalf of the customers. The domain is highly complex and offers the opportunity to engage in system design that simplifies this for customers, both internal and external.
Deeply understand the customer journey—both on and off the Gusto platform—and identify high-impact opportunities to simplify, automate, and delight through AI.
Design and build multi-agent AI systems that collaborate effectively to automate key customer workflows and jobs to be done.
Partner closely with engineers, product managers, designers, and other cross-functional teams to bring innovative AI-powered experiences to life quickly.
Continuously iterate on AI-driven features to improve customer outcomes and drive measurable business impact.
Support Payroll and Tax teams in applying AI to build more intuitive, efficient, and delightful experiences for both internal and external users.
15+ years of software development experience
~ Expertise in Agentic AI, Machine Learning, and LLMs is essential. You should be considered an expert in this field and have applied it to existing products.
~ Proficiency in designing and implementing standardized software architecture principles across a broad range of applications, teams, and products.
~ Product-minded and thrives in creative problem-solving, seamlessly transitioning between engineering and product management roles to drive impactful solutions.
~ Ability to communicate technical complexity and help facilitate informed tradeoffs.
~ Experience building products in highly regulated domains is desired, but not required.
~ Payroll, Taxes, or Compliance.

Please note that travel to Gusto’s Denver office for onboarding is required for this position. Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $222,000/yr to $247,000/yr in Denver & most remote locations, and $261,000/yr to $290,000/yr for San Francisco, Seattle & New York. Stock equity is additional. 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).
Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. 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.
#