Payment Operations Analyst

Xapply; New York, San Francisco (NY, CA); Hybrid; USD 78,000 - 121,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity (RSUs)

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Gusto is hiring a Payment Operations Analyst to own end-to-end payment workflows and drive reliability across the money surface. You’ll collaborate with Engineering, Product, Accounting, Risk, and CX to resolve exceptions and improve systems.

This role requires strong analytical skills, experience with domestic/international payment rails, and excellent cross-functional communication. You’ll bring an ownership mindset and embrace AI to boost productivity.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in payment operations, banking operations, treasury operations, or a related role at a fintech or financial institution.
• Working knowledge of domestic payment rails (ACH/Nacha, wires, RTP) and/or international money movement; cross-border experience is a plus.
• Strong analytical instincts and ability to query/structure data (SQL is a plus).
• Experience with bank portals, payment processors, or reconciliation tools.
• Clear communication with both operational and technical counterparts; ability to write concise escalations and notes.
• Comfort with ambiguity and ownership mentality.
• Interest in integrating AI into daily work and improving productivity.
• Knowledge of Nacha rules, unclaimed property, and money transmission is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end payment workflows and resolve exceptions to resolution; identify root causes.
• Contribute to product specs and define requirements; partner in building systems.
• Close the loop on customer pain by mining CX feedback for friction in payment flows.
• Think in systems and understand ripple effects across rails, reconciliation, compliance, and CX.
• Collaborate with bank/payment partners to triage issues and maintain strong relationships; drive escalations to resolution with firmness and collaboration.
• Lead with AI as a productivity lever, drafting communications and automating repetitive tasks.

Skills

Payment operations

Financial analysis

SQL

Communication

Ambiguity tolerance

AI fluency

Tools

Bank portals

Payment processors

Reconciliation tools

Job description

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:

Payments at Gusto aren't just infrastructure — they're the reason people get paid on time, every time. Payment Operations sits within Gusto's Money team, a cross-functional group spanning Engineering, Product, and Operations that powers money movement across Gusto's growing product surface: core payroll, contractor payments, international money movement, and new business offerings like PEO.

As a Payment Operations Analyst, you'll own specific end-to-end payment workflows, resolve exceptions that require real judgment, and help make our systems more reliable and efficient over time. Gusto's payment surface area is expanding — and this team is at the center of that growth.

This is a role for someone who can shift from investigating a single misfired transaction to coordinating a response on a payment outage affecting thousands — and bring the same rigor to both. You think in systems. You hold partners accountable. You lead with curiosity and embrace AI as a core part of how you work.

You'll collaborate closely with Engineering, Product, Accounting, Risk, and CX — and you'll develop strong day-to-day relationships with Gusto's bank and payment partners. When something breaks or slows down, you're the one who drives it to resolution.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

Support the payment lifecycle end-to-end

• Own the operational layer of specific payment workflows — ACH processing, exception handling, refunds, collection re-debits, reconciliation. When something is off, you investigate, elevate where needed, and see it through to resolution. And when you see a pattern, you push to fix the root cause.

Build alongside Product and Engineering

• Payment Operations doesn't just react — we shape how the systems work. You'll contribute to product specs, surface operational pain points, help define requirements, and participate in launches. You're a partner in building, not just a consumer of what gets shipped.

Close the loop on customer pain

• Customer and CX feedback is signal. You actively mine it to identify friction in payment flows, prioritize what matters, and bring those insights into the operational and product conversations where decisions get made.

Think in systems

• Connect the dots across rails, partners, reconciliation, compliance, and customer experience. When an issue surfaces, you understand how it ripples — and you bring that perspective to cross-functional conversations.

Hold partners to a high standard

• Work directly with Gusto's bank and payment partners — domestic and international — to triage issues, resolve escalations, and maintain strong working relationships. You know how to be firm and collaborative at the same time, and you don't let things sit.
  Lead with AI
  You use AI as a genuine work partner — to move faster on analysis, draft communications, synthesize data, and automate the repetitive. You're always looking for the smarter way to get to the answer.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• 3+ years of experience in payment operations, banking operations, treasury operations, or a related role at a fintech or financial institution
• Working knowledge of domestic payment rails (ACH/Nacha, wires, RTP) and/or international money movement (cross-border transfers, FX, global disbursement networks); experience across both is a strong plus
• Strong analytical instincts — you look for the pattern behind the problem and can query or structure data to find it (SQL a plus but not required)
• Experience working with bank portals, payment processors, or reconciliation tools
• Ability to communicate clearly with both operational and technical counterparts; you can write a crisp Slack to an engineer and a professional escalation to a bank partner
• Comfortable working in ambiguity and taking ownership without waiting for perfect information
• Eager to build AI into how you work — whether you're already using it daily or just getting started, you see it as a genuine productivity lever and are committed to developing that fluency
• Knowledge of relevant compliance frameworks (Nacha operating rules, unclaimed property, money transmission) is a strong plus

Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $78,000-$97,000 /yr in Denver & most remote locations, and $97,000-$121,000 /yr for San Francisco, Seattle & 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.