Staff / Principal

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join our People Technology team as the dedicated architect and hands-on engineer behind PeopleOS — our AI-native internal HR platform — and the broader suite of custom tools and integrations that power our People tech ecosystem. You will design, build, and ship software that shapes how every Gustie experiences HR, from recruiting and onboarding to performance and offboarding.

The People Solutions team is transforming how Gusto supports its people by pairing cutting-edge AI with smart automation. We build — not just configure — the systems that power People programs and processes.

• Be the technical owner for PeopleOS, our internal AI-powered HR platform, including features like the Offer Workflow Engine, People Home Base portal, Celebration tools, and automated Talk Track generation.
• Partner directly with People Ops stakeholders to translate workflows into working software, driving technical design, implementation, UAT support, and release.
• Design, build, test, and maintain integrations across Workday, Greenhouse, Lattice, Slack, and Google Workspace.
• Build and maintain custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that give AI agents structured access to People Systems data.
• Integrate the Anthropic API (Claude) to build intelligent internal tools including QPR coaching agents, HR front door chatbots, and ticket deflection workflows.
• Design prompts, handle structured outputs, and build safe, reliable AI-assisted workflows for People Ops use cases.
• Document integration specs, data mappings, and system configurations in Notion.
• Participate in Jira sprint planning and demo work to stakeholders bi-weekly.
• Troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and proactively implement corrective actions.

• 7+ years of full-stack software engineering experience, with production-quality work in Python, TypeScript/Node.js, or both.
• Strong experience building and consuming REST APIs — including OAuth flows, rate limiting, pagination, and error handling.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate SaaS platforms (bonus: Workday, Greenhouse, Slack, or Google Workspace).
• Comfort with AI/LLM API integration — Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, or equivalent — including prompt design and response parsing.
• Experience shipping internal tools or developer tooling with real end users and feedback loops.
• Strong written communication: you can document your own APIs, write a clear tech spec, and explain trade-offs to non-engineers.
• An understanding of sensitivity of HR data and familiarity with implications of labor law and data retention guidelines.

• Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol) server architecture.
• Experience with HR Tech ecosystems: HRIS, ATS, LMS platforms.
• Background in People Ops, HR Systems, or internal tools engineering at a high-growth tech company.
• Experience with XML, XSLT, JSON, and related integration technologies.

Cash compensation for this role is between $138,000 - $194,000 in Denver, and between $168,895 - $235,000/year for New York/San Francisco. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience, and expertise.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees 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 San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas.

Apply through the Gusto Greenhouse job board at the provided link.