Home/Gusto/Senior Product Design Manager, Payroll
Gusto
Gustogrowth

Payroll, benefits, and HR for modern small businesses

Senior Product Design Manager, Payroll

San Francisco, CA$172K – $253K+ Equity3/5
Our take

Design management at Gusto is a solid bet — the company treats design well and payroll is their bread and butter. It's a well-run team at a mature company, though the domain itself isn't the most creatively stimulating.

Job description

About Gusto

At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff—like payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR so business owners focus on their work. The company supports over 400,000 small businesses from offices in Denver, San Francisco, and New York.

About Design at Gusto

The design team comprises over 80 people committed to empowering small businesses. They work cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Data, and Marketing. The organization is building an AI-native design organization where designers use AI for prototyping, feedback loops, and shipping quality UX.

About the Role

This position leads design for Gusto's payroll product—one of Gusto's most complex and business-critical product areas. The manager will shape the UX direction, manage a designer team, and partner with Product, Engineering, Research, Data, Ops, and Compliance teams.

Key Responsibilities

  • Lead end-to-end payroll design experiences
  • Define and communicate long-term UX vision for Payroll
  • Partner with cross-functional teams on strategy and roadmaps
  • Lead AI and automation initiatives reducing manual work
  • Collaborate with Research and Data on customer insights
  • Influence product and technical roadmaps
  • Raise design standards for interaction and visual design
  • Define shared patterns and platform standards
  • Manage and mentor designer teams across multiple pods
  • Ensure payroll integrates with other People Platform tools
  • Qualifications

    Experience Required:

  • 8–10+ years product design experience with 3+ years in people management
  • Experience leading design direction across multiple teams
  • Proven ability to drive alignment and influence cross-functional partners
  • B2B, B2C, or SaaS product experience, ideally in complex regulated domains
  • Deep systems thinking for turning complex workflows into intuitive experiences
  • Portfolio demonstrating high-quality UX and visual design
  • Design system contribution experience (components, patterns, standards)
  • Familiarity with AI tools supporting design exploration and prototyping
  • Comfort operating in ambiguity while balancing vision with execution
  • Clear communication and storytelling abilities
  • Genuine bond to Gusto's mission and the needs of small businesses
  • Compensation & Benefits

    Salary Range:

  • Denver & most remote locations: $172,000–$215,000 annually
  • San Francisco, Seattle, New York: $202,000–$253,000 annually
  • The company emphasizes equity based compensation (ownership in Gusto) and offers competitive benefits packages.

    Work Arrangements

    Employees in Denver, San Francisco, New York, and Scottsdale offices work hybrid: approximately 2-3 days per week.

    About Gusto

    Payroll, benefits, and HR for modern small businesses

    gusto.com

    Interested in this role?

    Apply directly on Gusto's careers page.

    Apply now