Staff Data Scientist - Growth at Gusto, Inc.

San Francisco, California, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

28 Aug, 26

Salary

230000.0

Posted On

30 May, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

SQL, Python, Statistical Methods, Causal Inference, Experimental Design, AI Tools, Machine Learning, Data Storytelling, Strategic Leadership, Mentorship, Metric Design, Cross-functional Influence

Industry

Software Development

Description

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 highly skilled and motivated Data Scientist to join our Growth Data Science team. In this role, you'll leverage experimentation, statistical inference, and causal analysis to drive strategic decisions that directly impact how Gusto acquires, retains, and grows its customer base. The ideal candidate is a trusted data storyteller with strong statistical and coding skills, and a passion for using data to help small businesses thrive. You'll work closely with Marketing, Finance, Sales, and Revenue partners to become the go-to data expert for your growth domain — defining and tracking metrics that illuminate business performance, designing experiments that inform go-to-market strategy, and surfacing insights that accelerate growth. You'll also integrate AI-assisted practices to expand the reach and rigor of your analysis across the organization. Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day: Strategic Leadership: Shape the analytical strategy for Growth product initiatives. Identify high-leverage opportunities, set long-term measurement and experimentation direction, and align executive stakeholders around data-driven priorities. Execution Excellence: Drive and execute on org-level analytical roadmaps that shape company strategy, leveraging AI tools and creating efficiencies through AI native approaches. Achieve alignment and ensure consistent analytical rigor and metric integrity across product domains. Scaled Impact: In addition to being an expert in statistical methods and driving impact through execution, you will drive frameworks for experimentation, causal analysis, and metric design that scale across multiple teams and influence org-wide decision quality in an AI native capacity. Thought Partnership: Serve as a trusted advisor to senior product, engineering, and Revenue business leaders. Anticipate emerging questions, proactively define success measures, and advocate for data-informed strategy across the org. Analytical Innovation: Push the boundaries of statistical modeling, experimentation, and AI-assisted analytics. Design methods and tools that expand how Gusto leverages data to drive customer and business impact. Mentorship: Mentor and coach more junior data scientists, raising the bar for analytical thinking and storytelling. Here’s what we're looking for: 7 - 10+ years of experience in Data Science at a product-focused software company. Strong SQL and Python skills. Proven ability to apply statistical methods, causal inference, and experimental design to real business problems. Demonstrated experience leveraging AI tools like Claude, and executing work in an AI native way. Experience developing Machine Learning models is a plus. Excellent communication skills, with a track record of influencing cross-functional stakeholders and leadership. Demonstrated experience leading large, technically complex projects with clear business impact. A proactive, resilient problem-solver who independently structures ambiguous problems into actionable insights. Passion for mentoring others and raising the bar for data science craft across the team. BS/MS/PhD in a quantitative field (Statistics, Economics, Computer Science, Applied Math, etc.) or equivalent industry experience. Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $187,000-$230,000 in New York & San Francisco Bay Area. 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.

Responsibilities

Lead the analytical strategy for Growth product initiatives by leveraging experimentation and causal analysis to drive customer acquisition and retention. Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership while mentoring junior data scientists to improve analytical rigor across the organization.