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Principal Software Engineer - Pay Group Engineering

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.

215k – 295kDenver, COSan Francisco, CANew York, NY+1 moreFullstack EngineeringHybrid15+ YOE

About the role

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.

Skills

Ruby on RailsTypeScriptReactSystem DesignData StructuresData ModelingAIMachine LearningPlatform EngineeringScalable Systems

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