Principal Software Engineer

Summary

Join Gusto as a seasoned Software Engineer and contribute to the development and improvement of our core payroll platform. You will play a key technical leadership role across multiple teams, designing, building, and testing the foundation for compliant payroll processing for millions of users. This position requires extensive experience in large-scale system engineering, data modeling, and working with cross-functional teams. You will mentor junior engineers and drive product development from concept to launch. Gusto offers competitive compensation, stock equity, and a collaborative work environment with opportunities for professional growth. The role may involve a hybrid work model with in-office days in select locations.

Requirements

• Successful applicants typically have at least 15+ years of experience
• Able to build maintainable, structured, well-documented code
• Strong knowledge of data structures, data modeling, and system design
• Experience working across 3+ teams, influencing both product and team direction
• Experience working on platform products which are depended upon throughout the company
• Experience engineering, designing, building and supporting large scale systems in production
• An aptitude in bringing clarity and simplicity to complex problems, communicating technical complexity and facilitating informed tradeoffs to major stakeholders
• Experience operationalizing and scaling large interconnected production systems
• Enthusiasm for a collaborative, test-driven environment
• Experience in complex highly regulated domains
• Examples: HR, Payroll, Taxes, or Compliance

Responsibilities

• Function as a Technical Lead across multiple teams in Payroll Services, helping us keep engineers unblocked and deliver high-quality work supporting our long-term goals
• Design, build, and test the foundation that supports compliant payroll for millions of people
• Help scale one of the largest Ruby/Rails and TypeScript/React applications in the world
• Collaborate on complex and ambiguous problems with partnerships from Engineering, Product Management, Design, Data Science, Compliance, Operations, and other cross-functional teams
• Mentor and grow fellow engineers working to create holistic and scalable solutions
• Drive the product development process from concept to launch, delivering delightful products that make payroll, taxes, and compliance simple and easy
• Improve the productivity and happiness of our teams with the services, tools, and APIs you build
• Engage in a highly supportive environment working with others to drive productivity and innovation
• Continuously stay up-to-date with advancements in AI and Machine Learning, applying this knowledge to our projects

Benefits

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