Senior Growth Data Science Manager, Gusto
$217-265k
Salary benchmarked on CA & NY rates and may differ on location + Equity
More information about location
2-3 days a week in office
Automated payroll, benefits & HR platform
Be an early applicant
Automated payroll, benefits & HR platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$217-265k
Salary benchmarked on CA & NY rates and may differ on location + Equity
More information about location
2-3 days a week in office
1001+ employees
Company mission
To grow the small business economy.
Role
Who you are
- 10+ years of experience in data science or related fields, with at least 4 years managing and scaling high-performing data science teams
- Deep expertise in product analytics – experience with user acquisition, activation, retention, engagement, or expansion in SaaS or product-led environments
- Technical fluency – advanced coding skills, strong statistical reasoning, and familiarity with experimentation frameworks; ability to mentor data scientists on best practices
- AI product intuition – experience working at the intersection of data science and AI product development; comfort reasoning about model behavior, evaluation design, and the tradeoffs of deploying AI in customer-facing contexts
- Strategic and business acumen – demonstrated ability to connect insights to product and business goals, and to influence roadmaps through data
- Executive communication skills – proven experience presenting insights to senior stakeholders, turning complex data into clear and actionable recommendations
- Cross-functional collaboration – history of working closely with Product, Engineering, and go-to-market teams to drive decisions and deliver impact
- Hands-on experience with ML applications in product contexts (e.g., personalization, churn prediction, customer segmentation, or LLM-powered features) is strongly preferred
- Familiarity with multi-product SaaS ecosystems and customer lifecycle analytics is desirable
What the job involves
- Gusto is looking for an experienced, hands-on people manager to lead a core Data Science & Analytics team
- This role sits at the heart of how we use data — and increasingly AI — to understand, shape, and scale Gusto's products
- You’ll both manage a team of data scientists and analysts as well as personally get in-the-weeds to work closely with Product, Engineering, Design, Marketing, Sales, and Finance to deliver insights and frameworks that inform strategy, optimize user experiences, and accelerate business growth
- We're looking for a leader who can balance strategic influence with hands-on craft — someone who can guide senior Gusto leaders through data and AI strategy, coach data scientists on impactful problem solving, and dive in to drive forward statistically rigorous analyses when needed
- Lead and develop a team of data scientists – hire, empower, and coach team members; set a high bar for analytical quality and career growth
- Shape product and business strategy through data – partner with Product and cross-functional leaders to identify opportunities, prioritize investments, and influence long-term product roadmaps
- Develop and scale measurement frameworks – define key metrics, design monitoring systems, and ensure product initiatives — including AI-powered features — are rigorously tracked and evaluated
- Support experimentation and decision-making – support inferential analyses and experimentation (e.g., A/B tests, segmentation, funnel analysis), including designing evaluations for AI and ML-driven systems, ensuring findings are actionable and aligned to strategic goals
- Partner on AI-powered product development – collaborate with ML Engineering and Product to bring intelligent features to life (personalization, predictions, intelligent automation), ensuring they're grounded in customer insight and measured for real-world impact
- Balance strategic and hands-on impact – dive deep into data, review and refine analyses, and ensure insights are both technically sound and business-relevant
- Influence senior leadership – communicate insights and recommendations clearly, framing trade-offs and shaping executive decision-making
Our take
For many small businesses, vital administrative tasks such as payroll, taxes, and benefits are manual tasks that take time and energy which many SMB owners don’t have. The three co-founders of Gusto – all coming from small business backgrounds – collaborated on a Fintech company that would handle employee payments, benefits administration, and compliance support specifically for small businesses.
The company may have started slowly, as the founders focused on nailing each individual aspect of Gusto’s operations, but has now skyrocketed to unicorn status with more than 400,000 customers and a multi-billion dollar valuation. And in 2021, Gusto began acquiring other companies to strengthen its offering and its position in a competitive market, including two other fintech startups, Ardius and Symmetry.
Through its continued acquisitions and fundraising efforts, the company has carved out a strong position for itself in the space. Although Gusto has found itself impacted by the macroeconomic situation, through the significant effect it has had on its clientele, the company still appears positive for the future after raising funds in 2023 that has seen it reach key profitability benchmarks. It continues to expand its platform, most recently partnering with Parafin to launch a payroll line of credit for small businesses. With a growing suite of services and a clear focus on supporting small businesses through changing economic conditions, Gusto looks set to sustain its momentum and further strengthen its position in the HR and payroll technology market.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
45% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 9 rounds)
May 2022
$55m
SERIES E
Aug 2021
$175m
SERIES E
Total funding: $706.3m
Company benefits
- Health and Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents. Family care and support, including family planning and fertility benefits. Gender-affirming care and support. A variety of mental health resources.
- Time Away: It's important to take time away for yourself or to take care of your family. Gusto offers paid vacation, sick time, bereavement, and holidays, paid leaves, sabbatical, and more!
- Free meals and refreshments: If you work at one of our offices, enjoy food, drinks, and snacks— on us. Conversation and community is an added bonus!
- Perks:
Company HQ
Central Waterfront, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Joshua Reeves
(Co-Founder & CEO)Studied Electrical Engineering at Stanford and went onto co-found Gusto in 2011.
Tomer London
(Co-Founder & CPO)Has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford. Was a Researcher at Intel, and then interned at Bump Technologies. Co-founded Vizmo, a mobile self-service technologies company, in 2008. Co-founded Gusto in 2011.
Edward Kim
(Co-Founder & Head of Engineering)Studied Electrical Engineering at Stanford. Was Senior Project Engineer at Volkswagen of America Electronics Research Lab and then co-founded Picwing, a printed photos company, in 2008. Co-founded Gusto in 2011.
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