Compliance Manager

Gusto • Denver, CO;San Francisco, CA;New York, NY • 1d ago

Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs

Compliance is often treated as a back-office necessity in SaaS, but this role sits closer to the core operating model because it supports regulated financial services entities embedded in a software-led business. The scope spans both broker-dealer and investment adviser oversight, which signals a product and distribution footprint that must stand up to SEC and FINRA expectations while still functioning like a modern SaaS organisation. The explicit inclusion of AI tool governance also reflects a current inflection point in SaaS operations where automation is increasing, but accountability remains human.

For a SaaS career, the value here is learning how scalable systems are built under constraint. Owning calendars, testing cycles, surveillance workflows, and documentation creates repeatable operating rhythms that translate across SaaS companies facing audits, platform risk, or enterprise buyer scrutiny. Exposure to vendor due diligence, communications review, and training programs also builds a practical toolkit for operational risk management as SaaS products move into more regulated or security-sensitive markets.

This role suits a compliance professional who prefers execution as much as interpretation, and who is comfortable switching between detailed controls work and broader program stewardship. It will fit someone who enjoys tooling, process design, and defensible documentation, and who wants their compliance craft to evolve alongside AI-enabled workflows rather than remain policy-only.

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:

The Compliance Manager, Broker-Dealer & Investment Adviser is an essential member of the Gusto Retirement Compliance Team, reporting to the Compliance Lead (Director). This role is the operational engine of the compliance program — owning execution, testing, surveillance, and day-to-day program management across both the RIA and BD entities.

In this role, you would assist in supervising the compliance programs (including the governance of AI tools used across the compliance program), drive exam readiness, and ensure the program is running effectively, documented thoroughly, and defensible under SEC and FINRA scrutiny. This is not a policy-only role, and it is not a passive-user-of-technology role. It requires someone who can move fluidly between strategic oversight and hands-on execution, who understands what it means to carry a compliance program in a regulated financial services environment, and who can serve as a supervisory principal over compliance and AI, ensuring tools are deployed lawfully, outputs are validated, and the program evolves alongside regulatory expectations.

About the Team:

Gusto operates RIA and BD affiliated entities, serving customers across the retirement savings landscape. Our Compliance Team is a lean, high-impact function responsible for maintaining robust, defensible compliance programs across both regulatory regimes, built to scale alongside the business. That includes staying ahead of how AI is reshaping compliance operations: the team actively governs and oversees AI tools used across the program, identifies where AI can responsibly expand team capacity, and ensures that any AI use meets the supervisory standards required by SEC and FINRA. We are building a compliance program that is both modern and defensible.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

Lead and maintain FINRA state registration obligations across all required jurisdictions
Support employee registration filings including U4, U5, fingerprints, and background checks
Own and execute the compliance calendar — track deadlines, drive timely completion, and escalate to the Compliance Lead as needed
Lead the annual review and testing cycle across all compliance program areas: advertising, complaints, AML, trade errors, books and records, vendor due diligence, cyber, OFAC, gifts and entertainment, fees and expenses, and more
Own electronic communications surveillance in Global Relay including keyword configuration and user access
Lead advertising and collateral approval including FINRA submissions, the advertising log, and annual advertising training
Own Code of Ethics attestation cycles, desktop procedure management, and client agreements and disclosures review
Assist the Compliance Lead with regulatory filings including ADV and CRS
Create and administer compliance training materials across key program areas
Manage compliance tools including user management, brokerage feed links, and ongoing configuration
Contribute to AI-focused enhancements to the compliance program and identify automation opportunities
Serve as liaison with the Firm's compliance consulting firm and support the Compliance Lead on regulatory exams, regulator requests, and upmarket initiatives

Here’s what we're looking for:

5+ compliance experience at a FINRA-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser, with deep working knowledge of FINRA Rules , the SEC Rules (including the Marketing Rule, Reg S-P and Reg S-ID), GLBA, and Bank Secrecy Act
Running supervisory control testing and advertising review across both RIA and BD entities
Familiarity with compliance technology (e.g., ComplySci, Global Relay), books and records obligations under Rules 17a-4 and 204-2, and AI governance frameworks in a regulated environment
Hands-on experience executing compliance testing programs
Strong written communication skills — able to document compliance work to withstand regulatory scrutiny
Active SIE, Series 7, and Series 24 licenses
Ability to manage multiple programs and workstreams simultaneously in a lean, high-accountability team
Familiarity with AI tools in a compliance context and a clear understanding of where human oversight is non-negotiable

Our cash compensation amount for this role is $110,640/yr to $136,456/yr in Denver & most major metro locations, and $133,615/yr to $164,792/yr for San Francisco & New York. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

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