Gusto
About the Role
Staff Software Engineer, Local Environments Team — Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (and other locations per postings). This role focuses on shaping the next generation of compute (Kubernetes) and networking (service mesh) platforms to empower hundreds of engineers with reliable, scalable, and developer-friendly infrastructure.
What You’ll Do
Define and drive the vision for compute and networking platforms by setting the strategy for Kubernetes, service mesh, and related systems that power the global SaaS platform.
Lead architecture design, performance optimization, and security hardening of distributed systems at scale.
Partner with engineering leaders to translate broad organizational goals into concrete, measurable technical outcomes.
Treat infrastructure as a product by focusing on the developer experience, simplifying workflows, and accelerating delivery.
Mentor and multiply impact by growing the skills of mid level engineers through coaching, pairing, and modeling best practices.
Communicate with clarity by simplifying complex concepts and building alignment across teams and functions.
Lead incident response and ensure systems meet high standards of availability and resiliency.
What You’ll Bring
12 or more years of experience in Infrastructure, Platform, or Site Reliability Engineering roles operating large scale distributed systems.
Hands-on coding experience in production environments and ability to contribute directly to system development and automation.
Deep expertise running, scaling, and securing Kubernetes and service mesh technologies (e.g., Istio, Envoy, or Cilium) in production.
Experience designing highly available systems balancing reliability, observability, and developer velocity.
Mastery of Infrastructure as Code using tools such as Terraform or Crossplane, with experience managing complex state for large engineering organizations.
Experience owning and evolving 24/7 SaaS infrastructure including monitoring, alerting, and performance analysis.
Systems thinking mindset identifying small levers with meaningful organizational impact.
Exceptional communication skills to simplify complex ideas and align teams around a shared vision.
Bias toward action, resilience in ambiguity, and ability to transform big ideas into real, impactful systems.
Compensation, Location & Office Cash compensation for this role is targeted at $200,000-$230,000/yr in Denver and most remote locations, and $230,000-$270,000/yr for San Francisco, Seattle & New York. Final offer amounts depend on candidate experience and may vary from the amounts listed above.
Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees based in those locations are 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 office is in Scottsdale. Note: The San Francisco office expectations include the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas. When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable internet connection is required, including non-office days for hybrid employees.
Equal Opportunity & Accommodations Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or employment decisions 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 legally protected characteristics. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in line with applicable laws. Gusto is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you require accommodations at any time during your candidate journey, please fill out the form and a member of our team will contact you. Please review our Applicant Privacy Notice and Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer where applicable.
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What You’ll Do
Define and drive the vision for compute and networking platforms by setting the strategy for Kubernetes, service mesh, and related systems that power the global SaaS platform.
Lead architecture design, performance optimization, and security hardening of distributed systems at scale.
Partner with engineering leaders to translate broad organizational goals into concrete, measurable technical outcomes.
Treat infrastructure as a product by focusing on the developer experience, simplifying workflows, and accelerating delivery.
Mentor and multiply impact by growing the skills of mid level engineers through coaching, pairing, and modeling best practices.
Communicate with clarity by simplifying complex concepts and building alignment across teams and functions.
Lead incident response and ensure systems meet high standards of availability and resiliency.
What You’ll Bring
12 or more years of experience in Infrastructure, Platform, or Site Reliability Engineering roles operating large scale distributed systems.
Hands-on coding experience in production environments and ability to contribute directly to system development and automation.
Deep expertise running, scaling, and securing Kubernetes and service mesh technologies (e.g., Istio, Envoy, or Cilium) in production.
Experience designing highly available systems balancing reliability, observability, and developer velocity.
Mastery of Infrastructure as Code using tools such as Terraform or Crossplane, with experience managing complex state for large engineering organizations.
Experience owning and evolving 24/7 SaaS infrastructure including monitoring, alerting, and performance analysis.
Systems thinking mindset identifying small levers with meaningful organizational impact.
Exceptional communication skills to simplify complex ideas and align teams around a shared vision.
Bias toward action, resilience in ambiguity, and ability to transform big ideas into real, impactful systems.
Compensation, Location & Office Cash compensation for this role is targeted at $200,000-$230,000/yr in Denver and most remote locations, and $230,000-$270,000/yr for San Francisco, Seattle & New York. Final offer amounts depend on candidate experience and may vary from the amounts listed above.
Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees based in those locations are 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 office is in Scottsdale. Note: The San Francisco office expectations include the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas. When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable internet connection is required, including non-office days for hybrid employees.
Equal Opportunity & Accommodations Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or employment decisions 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 legally protected characteristics. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in line with applicable laws. Gusto is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you require accommodations at any time during your candidate journey, please fill out the form and a member of our team will contact you. Please review our Applicant Privacy Notice and Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer where applicable.
#J-18808-Ljbffr