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FinTech, HR Tech, SaaS, Software

Staff Applied AI/ML Engineer

Denver, Colorado, United StatesHybridFull TimeStaff$230,000–$280,000 /yrPosted 2 months agoVisa sponsorship available

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Role summary

Gusto is seeking a Staff Applied AI/ML Engineer for its Applied Data Science team, focusing on building AI/ML frameworks and infrastructure to enhance customer journeys. The role involves developing, testing, and deploying ML models for complex business problems, transitioning them to production, and ensuring scalability. Responsibilities include working with containerized environments, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and becoming a domain expert. The ideal candidate will have a PhD with 3+ years or an MS with 5+ years of experience in applied ML/GenAI or data science, with strong programming skills (Python, SQL), cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure), and MLOps/containerization knowledge.

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

Gusto is looking for a Staff AI/ML Engineer to join the Applied Data Science team at Gusto Retirement-App. This is a critical role to build AI and ML framework and infrastructure to enable us to strengthen and optimize how data is used to enable customer journey and experience at Gusto.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day

  • Develop, test, and deploy AI/ML models to solve complex business problems, such as anomaly detection, personalized experience, generative AI application, algorithm & optimization.
  • Transition models from proof-of-concept to production-ready solutions, ensuring scalability and performance.
  • Review and contribute to codebases, participate in pull requests, and maintain high-quality engineering standards.
  • Work with containerized environments to deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot ML services.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including analytics, engineering, products and business stakeholders, to align solutions with organizational needs.
  • Become a domain expert in key business areas, enabling you to craft intelligent, impactful data-driven solutions.

    • Here’s what we’re looking for

  • PhD with 3+ years or MS with 5+ years of industry experience in applied ML/GenAI, data science, or a related field.
  • Proven track record of developing and deploying ML solutions in production, from PoC to scalable systems.
  • Strong programming skills (Python, Javascript, C++, Java, or Scala) and proficiency in SQL for data extraction and manipulation.
  • Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure), MLOps, and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
  • Ability to work cross-functionally, translating business needs into AI-driven solutions and communicating effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

    • Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $230k-280k for San Francisco, New York, and Seattle $205k - 255k in Los Angeles, $185k-234k in Denver, and 200k-250k CAD for Toronto. 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.

    Sample Gusto interview questions

    • 1

      Design a system for real-time audio/video streaming.

      system designmedium
    • 2

      Design a system for real-time processing of natural language queries.

      system designmedium
    • 3

      Architect a system for monitoring real-time network traffic for security threats.

      system designmedium
    • 4

      Serialize and Deserialize N-ary Tree Serialize and deserialize an N-ary tree. Input: root = [1] Output: 1 Explanation: The tree only contains a root node, resulting in a minimal serialized string representation that can be accurately rebuilt.

      codingmedium
    • 5

      Aggressive Cows Maximize the minimum distance between aggressive cows in stalls. Input: stalls = [0,4,3,7,10,9], cows = 3 Output: 4 Explanation: Placing the cows at positions 0, 4, and 10 yields a maximum possible minimum distance of 4 between any two cows.

      codingmedium

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