Staff Software Engineer, AI Developer Tools
WFA Digital Insight
As the demand for AI specialists in the US grew by 45% in the last year, Gusto is at the forefront of innovation. With a focus on eliminating developer friction, this role is perfect for seasoned engineers looking to drive technical leadership and vision in AI developer tools. The current remote job market presents a unique opportunity for candidates with 8+ years of systems expertise and production AI experience to shine.
Job Description
About the Role
The Staff Software Engineer, AI Developer Tools, will play a key role in shaping the AI platform that accelerates engineering across Gusto. As the architectural anchor, you will redefine how the entire engineering organization builds, tests, and ships software by architecting a highly secure, context-aware, 'AI-native' development lifecycle.Gusto's mission is to support over 500,000 small businesses nationwide by handling payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR, allowing owners to focus on their craft and customers. The company is committed to building a workplace that reflects the people it serves.
What You Will Do
- Architect AI Core Infrastructure: Design, scale, and maintain the internal platform and APIs that integrate LLMs into the developer workflow.
- Drive Technical Leadership & Vision: Establish engineering best practices for building with AI at Gusto.
- Collaborate & Evangelize: Partner closely with product engineering teams to uncover systemic friction points.
- 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.
- Develop bespoke internal coding assistants to automate sprawling codebase refactors.
- Deploy AI to self-heal CI/CD pipelines, directly multiplying the velocity of hundreds of builders.
- Build the next generation of AI tools to drive developer productivity.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure AI tooling is scalable, compliant, and secure.
What We Are Looking For
- 8+ Years of Systems Expertise: Highly comfortable navigating massive, complex codebases and delivering production-grade, distributed software.
- Production AI Experience: Proven track record of working with AI tools and technologies.
- Strong understanding of AI-native development lifecycles and context-aware systems.
- Experience with autonomous agents, custom retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and smart context-delivery systems.
- Robust evaluation frameworks and strategies for optimizing model latency and token spend.
- Strong technical leadership and vision for driving AI adoption across the organization.
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills.
Nice to Have
- Experience with multi-agent systems and intelligent automation.
- Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
- Knowledge of cloud-based AI platforms and services.
Benefits and Perks
- Competitive base pay and benefits package.
- Equity (RSUs) for all full-time employees.
- Opportunity to work with a talented team of engineers and AI specialists.
- Flexible remote work arrangements and stipends.
- Comprehensive health insurance and 401(k) plan.
- Generous PTO and holiday schedule.
- Access to cutting-edge AI technologies and tools.
- Professional development opportunities and training programs.
How to Stand Out
- Ensure your resume highlights production AI experience and systems expertise.
- Prepare to discuss your approach to architecting AI Core Infrastructure and driving technical leadership.
- Showcase your understanding of AI-native development lifecycles and context-aware systems.
- Be ready to walk through your experience with autonomous agents and custom retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
- Familiarize yourself with Gusto's Total Rewards philosophy and be prepared to discuss your expectations.
- Research the current market trends in AI developer tools and be prepared to discuss your insights.
This is a remote position listed on WFA Digital, the platform for professionals who work from anywhere. Browse more remote jobs across all categories.