Staff Software Engineer, Pricing and Packaging Engineering

The Wrap; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 195,000 - 247,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity (RSUs)

Benefits package

Job summary

Gusto is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to drive the development of its internal Commerce Platform, owning architecture for catalog, pricing, promotions, and subscriptions. You will collaborate with product, data science, and cross-functional teams to build a scalable platform that supports 500,000+ small businesses nationwide.

The role involves mentoring engineers, delivering multi-quarter initiatives, and leveraging AI tools to boost development velocity.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development experience.
• Deep backend experience in commerce, billing, pricing, or packaging.
• Proven ability to deliver multi-quarter initiatives that impact customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical design and architecture for parts of the Commerce Platform.
• Partner with product, data science, and cross-functional engineering teams to define the platform's technical roadmap.
• Drive end-to-end delivery from requirements gathering to rollout and iteration.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews and coaching, fostering craftsmanship.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate velocity and establish AI‑augmented development best practices.
• Collaborate with marketing and business teams to evolve the self-serve system for products, bundles, promotions, and discounts.

Skills

Backend architecture

Distributed systems

API design

SLOs in production

Cross-functional leadership

Mentoring engineers

Platform reliability

AI tooling

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:

The Pricing & Packaging team is looking for Staff Software Engineer to drive the development of Gusto’s internal Commerce Platform solutions. You’ll own the architecture and delivery of systems that power how Gusto packages, prices, and delivers its products to over 500,000 small businesses nationwide. In this role, you’ll partner closely with product, data science, and cross-functional engineering teams to build a reliable, scalable platform infrastructure that enables Gusto’s growth. If you’re energized by high-stakes platform work at the intersection of engineering excellence and real business impact, this role is for you.

About the Team:

The Pricing & Packaging team sits at the heart of Gusto’s Commerce infrastructure, serving as the single source of truth for all products, bundles, add-ons, subscriptions, pricing, promotions, and discounts across Gusto’s first-party customer experience. The team owns and operates Gusto’s internal Commerce Platform, including the product catalog, promotion engine, subscription, pricing experimentation platform, and entitlement services that enable Growth and other teams to bring Gusto’s offerings to market effectively. We’re a collaborative team of engineers, product managers, designers, and data scientists working on quarterly goals and monthly milestones, with a strong emphasis on platform reliability, adoption, and business impact. Our work directly shapes how Gusto’s 500,000+ small business customers access the payroll, benefits, and HR tools they rely on every day.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Lead technical design and architecture for parts of the Commerce Platform, including the product catalog, promotion engine, and subscription and entitlement systems, ensuring services are reliable, performant, and meet business needs.
• Partner with product management and cross-functional engineering teams (Growth, Onboarding, product teams) to define the platform’s technical roadmap and drive adoption across Gusto.
• Drive end-to‑end delivery of complex, ambiguous projects from requirements gathering and technical scoping through implementation, rollout, and post‑launch iteration.
• Mentor and grow engineers on the team through design reviews, code reviews, and hands‑on technical coaching, fostering a culture of craftsmanship and continuous improvement.
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate engineering velocity and establish team‑wide best practices for AI‑augmented development.
• Collaborate with Gusto’s marketing and business teams to evolve the self‑serve system for managing products, bundles, promotions, and discounts, enabling faster time‑to‑market for new offerings.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Successful applicants typically have 8+ years of software development experience.
• Deep experience building and operating large-scale backend platform systems, ideally in commerce, billing, subscription management, pricing, and packaging domains.
• Experience owning multi‑quarter projects that solve complex engineering problems and make measurable customer impact at scale.
• Strong command of distributed systems, API design, and service reliability practices, with experience defining and meeting SLOs in production environments.
• Ability to lead cross‑functional technical initiatives, influence without authority, and align engineering, product, and business stakeholders around a shared technical vision.
• Ability to mentor engineers to maximize their performance and impact.
• Experience with large‑scale refactors, performance and reliability issues, and a strong sense of ownership over all aspects of your product area.

Please note that travel to Gusto's office for onboarding is required for this position. If you have any questions regarding this requirement, please share with your recruiter.

Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $163,000–$204,000 in Denver & most remote locations, and $197,000–$247,000 for San Francisco & 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.

At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Engineering, Design) and your scope of ownership (what you're accountable for) — which is why you'll see something like "Head of X" instead of a rank word like "Director" that tells you neither. Because of this, the title on this posting may look different from what you'd expect based on the scope and seniority of the role, and from how similar roles are typically titled elsewhere. If you have questions about how this role compares to your current title or level, your recruiter can help translate.

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.

Reliable, consistent presence:

We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in‑office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve.

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.