Staff Software Engineer, HR Experience

Gusto; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 197,000 - 247,000; Full time

Job summary

Gusto, a leader in payroll, benefits, and HR tech, seeks an experienced software engineer to own full-stack features for the HRX Engineering product. You will design, implement, test, and monitor features across frontend, backend, and data layers while collaborating with product and design teams.

You will drive end-to-end ownership, participate in code reviews and planning, and mentor others. Expect a hybrid NYC-area presence with competitive base pay and equity as part of Total Rewards.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including full-stack work.
• Ability to design, build, and ship features spanning frontend, backend, and data layer with minimal oversight.
• Strong proficiency in at least one backend language/framework (Ruby on Rails, Node.js, Python/Django) and one frontend framework (React, TypeScript).
• Solid understanding of relational databases — schema design, migrations, and query performance.
• Own a project end-to-end: scoping, technical design, implementation, testing, deployment, and monitoring.
• Strong fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, automated testing, CI/CD.
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with product managers, designers, and engineers.
• Clear written and verbal communication, including technical design docs.

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Full-stack experience

Project ownership

Backend languages

Frontend framework

Relational databases

CS fundamentals

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Job description

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.

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.

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.