Staff Software Developer Jobs at Gusto with Visa Sponsorship
Staff Software Developer jobs at Gusto sit at the intersection of payroll infrastructure and compliance tooling, where engineers tackle complex, high-stakes systems serving small businesses across the U.S. Gusto has a consistent track record of sponsoring work visas for this function, supporting candidates through H-1B visa, E-3 visa, and employment-based Green Card pathways.
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Get Access To All JobsAbout 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:
As a Staff Engineer on the Developer Productivity - AI Developer Tools team, you will be the architectural anchor shaping the AI platform that accelerates engineering across Gusto. You will redefine how our entire engineering organization builds, tests, and ships software by architecting a highly secure, context-aware, "AI-native" development lifecycle.
Your mission is to eliminate developer friction through AI tools, multi-agent systems, and intelligent automation. Whether you are building bespoke internal coding assistants, automating sprawling codebase refactors, or deploying AI to self-heal CI/CD pipelines, your work will directly multiply the velocity of hundreds of builders. Help us drive developer productivity by building the next generation of AI tools.
About the Team:
The AI Developer Tools team is a specialized team within Developer Productivity. We believe AI is the next great leap in software craftsmanship. Our goal is to provide every builder at Gusto with a suite of "superpowers" tools that deeply understand our codebase and absorb operational toil so engineers can focus on creative problem-solving. We treat our fellow engineers as our primary customers, prioritizing developer experiences that are not just powerful, but absolutely delightful to use.
Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
- Architect AI Core Infrastructure: Design, scale, and maintain the internal platform and APIs that integrate LLMs into the developer workflow, with a heavy focus on autonomous agents, custom retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and smart context-delivery systems.
- Drive Technical Leadership & Vision: Establish engineering best practices for building with AI at Gusto, including robust evaluation frameworks (evals), guardrails for code safety, and strategies for optimizing model latency and token spend.
- Collaborate & Evangelize: Partner closely with product engineering teams to uncover systemic friction points, and collaborate with core Infrastructure and Security teams to ensure all AI tooling is scalable, compliant, and secure.
- Optimize Feedback Loops: Identify and eliminate critical bottlenecks in the local-to-production lifecycle at scale across Gusto.
- Maintain Enterprise Reliability: Treat AI infrastructure with production-grade rigor. Monitor system health, diagnose complex integration or networking issues, and mitigate model drift or downtime.
Here’s what we're looking for:
- 8+ Years of Systems Expertise: You are a seasoned engineer who is highly comfortable navigating massive, complex codebases and delivering production-grade, distributed software.
- Production AI Experience: You have a proven track record of moving AI beyond prototypes. You possess a deep understanding of prompt engineering, fine-tuning, RAG architectures, and orchestrating multi-agent workflows.
- Developer-First Mindset: You are passionate about Developer Experience and Productivity. You intuitively understand what makes an internal tool frictionless, fast, and empowering for other engineers.
- Strategic Execution: You don't just build wrappers; you think deeply about data privacy, security, cost management, and systemic reliability when deploying AI solutions.
- Exceptional Communication: You can seamlessly translate bleeding-edge AI capabilities into clear, actionable infrastructure strategies, mentoring junior engineers and aligning cross-functional stakeholders along the way.
- Working as a Team: You work across team boundaries and bring other teams and groups along with you towards our strategic vision.
Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $180,000/yr to $200,000/yr in Denver & most remote locations, $220,000/yr to $245,000/yr for San Francisco, New York & Seattle. 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.
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.
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:
As a Staff Engineer on the Developer Productivity - AI Developer Tools team, you will be the architectural anchor shaping the AI platform that accelerates engineering across Gusto. You will redefine how our entire engineering organization builds, tests, and ships software by architecting a highly secure, context-aware, "AI-native" development lifecycle.
Your mission is to eliminate developer friction through AI tools, multi-agent systems, and intelligent automation. Whether you are building bespoke internal coding assistants, automating sprawling codebase refactors, or deploying AI to self-heal CI/CD pipelines, your work will directly multiply the velocity of hundreds of builders. Help us drive developer productivity by building the next generation of AI tools.
About the Team:
The AI Developer Tools team is a specialized team within Developer Productivity. We believe AI is the next great leap in software craftsmanship. Our goal is to provide every builder at Gusto with a suite of "superpowers" tools that deeply understand our codebase and absorb operational toil so engineers can focus on creative problem-solving. We treat our fellow engineers as our primary customers, prioritizing developer experiences that are not just powerful, but absolutely delightful to use.
Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
- Architect AI Core Infrastructure: Design, scale, and maintain the internal platform and APIs that integrate LLMs into the developer workflow, with a heavy focus on autonomous agents, custom retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and smart context-delivery systems.
- Drive Technical Leadership & Vision: Establish engineering best practices for building with AI at Gusto, including robust evaluation frameworks (evals), guardrails for code safety, and strategies for optimizing model latency and token spend.
- Collaborate & Evangelize: Partner closely with product engineering teams to uncover systemic friction points, and collaborate with core Infrastructure and Security teams to ensure all AI tooling is scalable, compliant, and secure.
- Optimize Feedback Loops: Identify and eliminate critical bottlenecks in the local-to-production lifecycle at scale across Gusto.
- Maintain Enterprise Reliability: Treat AI infrastructure with production-grade rigor. Monitor system health, diagnose complex integration or networking issues, and mitigate model drift or downtime.
Here’s what we're looking for:
- 8+ Years of Systems Expertise: You are a seasoned engineer who is highly comfortable navigating massive, complex codebases and delivering production-grade, distributed software.
- Production AI Experience: You have a proven track record of moving AI beyond prototypes. You possess a deep understanding of prompt engineering, fine-tuning, RAG architectures, and orchestrating multi-agent workflows.
- Developer-First Mindset: You are passionate about Developer Experience and Productivity. You intuitively understand what makes an internal tool frictionless, fast, and empowering for other engineers.
- Strategic Execution: You don't just build wrappers; you think deeply about data privacy, security, cost management, and systemic reliability when deploying AI solutions.
- Exceptional Communication: You can seamlessly translate bleeding-edge AI capabilities into clear, actionable infrastructure strategies, mentoring junior engineers and aligning cross-functional stakeholders along the way.
- Working as a Team: You work across team boundaries and bring other teams and groups along with you towards our strategic vision.
Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $180,000/yr to $200,000/yr in Denver & most remote locations, $220,000/yr to $245,000/yr for San Francisco, New York & Seattle. 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.
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.
See all Staff Software Developer Jobs at Gusto
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Staff Software Developer Jobs at Gusto.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Staff Software Developer Jobs at Gusto
Align your portfolio to payroll systems
Gusto builds infrastructure for payroll, tax compliance, and benefits administration. Before applying, make sure your portfolio or resume demonstrates experience with distributed systems, financial data pipelines, or regulated software, these signal direct relevance to Staff-level work at Gusto.
Target roles requiring Staff-level ownership
Staff Software Developer postings at Gusto typically emphasize cross-functional technical leadership, not just execution. Position yourself as someone who has driven architecture decisions or mentored engineers across teams, since that scope of ownership is what distinguishes Staff from Senior at Gusto.
Confirm E-3 eligibility before the offer stage
If you hold Australian citizenship, the E-3 visa avoids the H-1B lottery entirely and can be processed at a U.S. consulate in weeks. Clarify your citizenship status with the recruiter early so Gusto's immigration counsel can prepare a Labor Condition Application with the DOL ahead of your start date.
Understand how PERM timing affects your start
If you're targeting an EB-2 or EB-3 Green Card through Gusto, PERM labor certification with the DOL can take 12 to 18 months before USCIS even receives the immigrant petition. Factor this into your negotiation if you're already on a visa with limited remaining authorized stay.
Use Migrate Mate to filter verified Gusto openings
Gusto posts Staff Software Developer roles across multiple channels, but not all listings reflect current sponsorship availability. Use Migrate Mate to browse Gusto's verified visa-sponsoring roles in one place and avoid applying to positions that have closed or no longer support sponsorship.
Prepare your specialty occupation documentation early
For H-1B petitions, USCIS scrutinizes whether a Staff Software Developer role qualifies as a specialty occupation. Gather evidence that your degree field directly maps to the position's duties, Gusto's immigration attorney will need this to build a strong I-129 petition on your behalf.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Gusto sponsor H-1B visas for Staff Software Developers?
Yes, Gusto sponsors H-1B visas for Staff Software Developer roles. Because these positions involve complex software engineering in a regulated financial services environment, they generally satisfy USCIS's specialty occupation requirement. Gusto works with immigration counsel to file Form I-129 petitions, and candidates subject to the annual cap would need to go through the H-1B lottery in the applicable registration period.
How do I apply for Staff Software Developer jobs at Gusto?
Applications go through Gusto's careers portal, where Staff Software Developer roles are listed with details on responsibilities and team focus. You can also find Gusto's verified sponsoring positions on Migrate Mate, which filters for roles where visa sponsorship is confirmed. Expect a multi-round technical interview covering system design, engineering leadership, and Gusto's product domain in payroll and compliance infrastructure.
Which visa types does Gusto use for Staff Software Developer roles?
Gusto sponsors H-1B visas for candidates subject to the annual cap, E-3 visas for Australian citizens who want to bypass the lottery, and employment-based Green Cards through the EB-2 and EB-3 preference categories via the PERM labor certification process with the DOL. The right pathway depends on your citizenship, current status, and how long you've already been accumulating priority date history.
What qualifications does Gusto expect for Staff Software Developer positions?
Staff Software Developer roles at Gusto typically require a bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related field. Beyond credentials, Gusto looks for engineers who have driven large-scale system design, navigated cross-functional technical decisions, and ideally have exposure to fintech, payroll, or compliance-sensitive software where correctness and reliability are non-negotiable.
How long does the visa sponsorship process take for a Gusto Staff Software Developer offer?
Timeline depends on the visa type. E-3 applicants can often reach a consular interview within two to four weeks of the DOL certifying the Labor Condition Application. H-1B petitions tied to the cap have an October 1 start date, so timing depends on the registration cycle. PERM-based Green Card sponsorship runs longer, with DOL labor certification alone averaging 12 to 18 months before USCIS filing.