# Principal Software Engineer - Pay Group Engineering

**Company:** [Gusto](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/gusto)
**Location:** Denver, CO, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Seattle, WA
**Role:** Fullstack Engineering
**Salary:** $215k – $295k/yr
**Experience:** 15+ years
**Skills:** Ruby on Rails, TypeScript, React, System Design, Data Structures, Data Modeling, AI, Machine Learning, Platform Engineering, Scalable Systems
**Posted:** 2026-02-10

> Leads end-to-end projects improving Gusto's payroll/tax platform for scalability and compliance. Requires 15+ years experience scaling Ruby/Rails & TypeScript/React apps, system design expertise, and AI/ML knowledge.

## Job Description

## About the Team

Pay Group teams handle product, ops, and service components for onboarding customers, processing payrolls, calculating taxes, paying/filing with tax agencies, and maintaining compliance.

**Sub-Teams:**
- **Tax Accuracy**: Gathers/maintains info for accurate, timely tax payments/filings.
- **Ledger**: Builds payroll ledger for accrual accounting across payroll, risk, payments, accounting.
- **Engine**: Enables compliant pay with payroll compliance team.
- **Platform**: Develops common interface for payroll/tax data interactions.

## Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
- **Function as a Technical Lead** across multiple teams, keeping engineers unblocked and delivering high-quality work.
- **Design, build, and test** foundation for compliant payroll for millions.
- **Help scale** large Ruby/Rails and TypeScript/React applications.
- **Collaborate** on complex problems with Engineering, Product, Design, Data Science, Compliance, Operations.
- **Mentor and grow** fellow engineers on scalable solutions.
- **Drive product development** from concept to launch.
- **Improve team productivity** with services, tools, APIs.
- **Engage** in supportive environment for productivity/innovation.
- Stay up-to-date with **AI and Machine Learning**, applying to projects.

## Here’s what we're looking for:
- 15+ years experience.
- Build maintainable, structured, well-documented code.
- Strong knowledge of data structures, data modeling, system design.
- Experience across 3+ teams, influencing product/team direction.
- Platform products depended on company-wide.
- Engineering large-scale production systems.
- Clarity/simplicity in complex problems, communicating to stakeholders.
- Operationalizing/scaling interconnected systems.
- Collaborative, test-driven environment.
- Complex regulated domains (HR, Payroll, Taxes, Compliance).
- AI tools for building/testing/iterating.
- Evaluate AI outputs with success criteria.
- Current on backend tech/AI frameworks; experiment with new approaches.
- Contribute to shared AI tools/templates.

## Compensation

$215,000-$252,000/yr (Denver & most remote); $251,000-$295,000/yr (San Francisco, Seattle, New York). Stock equity additional.

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**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/6a00ba84-c85d-4949-ab1b-b80a50f915a6
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/6a00ba84-c85d-4949-ab1b-b80a50f915a6