Product Manager, Unified Service Platform

Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY 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. By the Numbers:

• Named #1 best software for small business of 2024 by G2
• 2,700+ employees in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Turkiye and growing
• Over $500M in annual revenue
• The SMB market is large (and growing!) with huge opportunities for Gusto to make an incredible impact for SMBs
• There are 6.2M employers in the US, 98% have fewer than 100 employees (1)
• 550,000 new businesses are created each year in the US (1)

What Product Management is like at Gusto:

• Our Product team is lean, which means you’ll have a high degree of impact and ownership. We believe in smaller, empowered teams that move quickly with less overhead. You’ll move fast by pairing sharp product judgment with fluency in AI tools — automating what slows teams down and amplifying what makes them creative and high-performing.
• We’re boundaryless builders. Lines between roles are intentionally blurred, and our PMs do whatever it takes to deliver outcomes. You’ll prototype, automate, design, and ship — using AI as your co-builder to turn problems into durable solutions that deliver customer value with urgency and care.
• We’re here to serve small and medium businesses. Gusto has a strong mission-driven culture, and we care deeply about lifting up these business owners — building technology for an AI-first world that gives them the superpowers to run and grow their businesses with confidence.
• We’re comfortable with change. Our environment moves fast, and PMs here thrive in ambiguity — blending curiosity, experimentation, and AI-native craft to shape how products (and work itself) are built at Gusto.

About the Role: At Gusto, we're building a world where every customer need is understood, matched with the right expertise, and driven to the right resolution, by the right person or AI, at the right time. Making that real requires a sophisticated "System of Intelligence" that understands customer intent, judges problem complexity, decides whether AI or a human should take it, and retrieves exactly the right knowledge and data to answer. As Principal Product Manager for the AI-First Service Platform:

• Own core capabilities of the intelligence layer and surface area experience behind Gusto's customer-facing AI help/service — models & infrastructure determining customer needs; whether AI or human should resolve it; context travel with handoff; knowledge system draws on to answer.
• Own multiple capabilities/channels across voice/chat/email; accountable for system performance for customers beyond just shipping features.

This role requires: systems thinking & hands-on building: tear down complexity; design simple/durable architecture; rapid experimentation & iteration; create conditions where operational efficiency & great customer experience reinforce each other. Think from first principles; influence senior level; dive into details when needed. About the Team: The Unified Service Platform (USP) team: operational backbone behind Gusto's customer experience. Build intelligent systems aligning Sales & Service teams around single source of truth — replacing fragmented tools with cohesive "System of Intelligence" giving full context needed to serve customers effectively. AI-native team building agentic solutions transforming work: own AI-Human-AI loop across voice/chat/email ensuring seamless/informed/effortless interactions internally & externally. North star: make it easy for Gusto's teams to do their best work so every business served feels difference. Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Own core capabilities of Gusto's AI service intelligence layer (intent understanding; escalation/handoff decisions; context ingestion; knowledge/retrieval) across voice/chat/email
• Build/refine models & frameworks decoding customer needs & deciding if AI or human resolution path is right; partner with engineering/data science to improve accuracy & eliminate context loss across handoffs
• Own evaluation layer for shipped systems — define "good," build evals/monitoring proving it in production; close loop between model output & actual customer experience
• Experiment/learn/iterate/ship impactful solutions rapidly
• Identify/dismantle legacy systems/hard-coded workflows creating friction; replace with flexible/intelligent architecture scaling with growth
• Collaborate with GTM & Service teams so system reflects real operational needs; translate frontline insights into prioritized product decisions
• Define/track key metrics: solve rate; satisfaction; escalation accuracy; handle time; customer effort — use data to diagnose breakdowns & drive continuous improvement

Here’s what we're looking for:

• Systems thinker with 8+ years product management experience building complex data-intensive platforms — ideally in customer service/CRM/enterprise SaaS environments where routing/orchestration/workflow automation core product elements
• Deep familiarity with AI/ML concepts — especially intent classification/NLP/agentic systems — proven track record translating model capabilities into tangible product outcomes at scale
• Hands-on builder comfortable moving between strategy/execution — whiteboarding architecture with engineers; influencing senior stakeholders; diving into data to pressure-test assumptions
• Strong cross-functional instincts & ability aligning Sales/Service/Engineering teams around shared product vision despite competing priorities/org complexity
• Bias toward simplicity — default first principles solving hard problems; knows when tearing down legacy systems better than patching them; measures success by friction removed for customers & teammates

If you don't meet all criteria but interested please apply. Compensation: $179K–$220K/year Denver & most major metros $210K–$260K/year San Francisco / Seattle / New York Final offers depend on location/experience/expertise. Location Information: Physical offices in Denver CO; San Francisco CA (includes San Jose metro); New York NY city area. Employees based there expected onsite approx 2–3 days/week or more depending on role. Remote Work Allowance: Employees approved to work from non-office locations must have secure/reliable consistent internet connection including non-office days for hybrid employees. Employment Type: Full-time (implied by mention of full-time employees receiving pay/benefits/equity) Experience Level Indications: 8+ years product management experience required Skills Mentioned: Technologies / Methodologies:

• AI tools fluency
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) concepts
• Intent classification
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Agentic systems
• Data-intensive platform development
• Routing/orchestration/workflow automation systems
• Model evaluation & monitoring in production

Soft Skills / Other:

• Systems thinking
• Hands-on builder mentality
• Strategy & execution balance
• Whiteboarding architecture/design skills
• Influencing senior stakeholders
• Data-driven decision making / pressure-testing assumptions
• Cross-functional collaboration aligning Sales / Service / Engineering teams
• Bias toward simplicity / first principles problem solving
• Comfortable working in ambiguity / fast-changing environment
• Curiosity / experimentation mindset