Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This role stands out in the SaaS ecosystem because it sits at the intersection of product engineering and internal platform development, treating People Operations as a software surface rather than a set of configured tools. Building an AI native HR platform and the integrations around it reflects a broader SaaS trend toward bespoke workflows, agentic tooling, and tighter connections between best of breed systems like HRIS, ATS, and collaboration suites.
For a long term SaaS career, the work compounds in several directions at once: designing reliable APIs and integrations, operating software with real feedback loops, and translating non technical business processes into maintainable systems. The emphasis on safe AI assisted workflows and structured access to sensitive data also builds practical judgment that carries across SaaS domains where trust, auditability, and data governance matter.
The position is best suited to an engineer who prefers ownership over narrow tickets and enjoys partnering directly with operational stakeholders to define what “good” looks like. It fits someone comfortable balancing product thinking with systems rigor, and who is motivated by internal users, measurable workflow outcomes, and iterative improvement rather than external feature launches alone.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About the Role:
We are seeking a Software Engineer to join our People Technology team as the dedicated engineer behind PeopleOS — our AI-native internal HR platform — and the broader suite of custom tools and integrations that power our People tech ecosystem. In this role, you will design, build, and ship software that directly shapes how every Gustie experiences HR, from recruiting and onboarding to performance and offboarding.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on full-stack engineer and problem solver who thrives in ambiguity, cares about the employee experience, and wants to see their work used every day by real people.
About the Team:
The People Solutions team is transforming how Gusto supports its people by pairing cutting-edge AI with smart automation. We build — not just configure — the systems that power People programs and processes. We optimize workflows, enhance service delivery, and free up teams to focus on meaningful, high-impact work to support a more responsive, efficient, and future-ready people experience.
Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
Product Engineering — PeopleOS
- Be the technical owner for PeopleOS, our internal AI-powered HR platform that was built with the purpose of enhanced Gustie experiences for people programs and a more efficient People team with features like the Offer Workflow Engine, People Home Base portal, Celebration tools, and automated Talk Track generation
- Partner directly with People Ops stakeholders to translate workflows into working software driving technical design, implementation, UAT support, and release
Integration & Systems Development
- Design, build, test, and maintain integrations across Workday, Greenhouse, Lattice, Slack, and Google Workspace
- Build and maintain custom MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers that give AI agents structured access to People Systems data where no native tool MCP exists
AI-Powered Tooling
- Integrate the Anthropic API (Claude) to build intelligent internal tools including QPR coaching agents, HR front door chatbots, and ticket deflection workflows
- Design prompts, handle structured outputs, and build safe, reliable AI-assisted workflows for People Ops use cases
Collaboration & Quality
- Document integration specs, data mappings, and system configurations in Notion
- Participate in Jira sprint planning and demo work to stakeholders bi-weekly
- Troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and proactively implement corrective actions across the portfolio
Here’s what we're looking for:
- 3–5 years of full-stack software engineering experience, with production-quality work in Python, TypeScript/Node.js, or both
- Strong experience building and consuming REST APIs — including OAuth flows, rate limiting, pagination, and error handling
- Demonstrated ability to integrate SaaS platforms (bonus: Workday, Greenhouse, Slack, or Google Workspace)
- Comfort with AI/LLM API integration — Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, or equivalent — including prompt design and response parsing
- Experience shipping internal tools or developer tooling with real end users and feedback loops
- Strong written communication: you can document your own APIs, write a clear tech spec, and explain trade-offs to non-engineers
- An understanding of sensitivity of HR data and familiarity with implications of labor law and data retention guidelines
Preferred
- Familiarity with MCP (Model Context Protocol) server architecture
- Experience with HR Tech ecosystems: HRIS, ATS, LMS platforms
- Background in People Ops, HR Systems, or internal tools engineering at a high-growth tech company
- Experience with XML, XSLT, JSON, and related integration technologies
Our cash compensation amount for this role is between $163,370 - $204,213 in Denver, between $197,895 - $247,369/year for New York/San Francisco. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.
