Hybrid opportunity at
GustoDesign Systems, Staff Product Designer
Gusto operates a platform serving more than 500,000 small businesses across the nation by managing HR, payroll, health insurance, and retirement plans. The company seeks a…
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About This Role
Gusto operates a platform serving more than 500,000 small businesses across the nation by managing HR, payroll, health insurance, and retirement plans. The company seeks a Staff Product Designer specializing in Design Systems to join the Builder Enablement team in San Francisco. In this hybrid role, the professional will help shape Workbench, the internal design system at Gusto, blending traditional systems craft with AI-assisted workflows. The position is comparable to…
Job Description
Gusto operates a platform serving more than 500,000 small businesses across the nation by managing HR, payroll, health insurance, and retirement plans. The company seeks a Staff Product Designer specializing in Design Systems to join the Builder Enablement team in San Francisco. In this hybrid role, the professional will help shape Workbench, the internal design system at Gusto, blending traditional systems craft with AI-assisted workflows.
The position is comparable to a Senior Staff level and suits an individual who views AI tools as a fundamental part of daily operations rather than an optional add-on. Responsibilities involve developing and maintaining components, guiding semantic and functional token architecture during a brand refresh, and building tooling that makes the system legible to both humans and LLMs. Candidates will collaborate closely with engineering peers, review implementations, and contribute directly to code repositories.
Gusto maintains physical offices in San Francisco, Denver, and New York City, requiring hybrid staff to work on-site approximately two to three days per week. The company provides competitive base compensation, equity in the form of restricted stock units, and standard benefits for permanent full-time employees.
Responsibilities
- Design and maintain Workbench components and patterns featuring variables, variants, and tokenized styles
- Oversee and evolve semantic and functional token architecture to support the brand refresh and theming efforts
- Collaborate with engineering teams on component consistency, technical plans, and code pull requests
- Contribute to AI tooling, structured documentation, and storybook examples to assist designers and engineers
- Provide support to product designers and engineers through office hours, Slack, and asynchronous reviews
- Document and publish design decisions, usage guidelines, and component rationales
- Participate in systemic decisions regarding component architecture, naming conventions, and migration strategies
Requirements
- At least 4 years of experience working on a product design systems team through the full lifecycle including design, implementation, documentation, and adoption
- Experience with token architecture and component API design
- At least 7 years of experience working on a product design team
- Demonstrated experience using AI tools like Claude or Copilot as a meaningful part of a regular workflow
- Ability to collaborate effectively with engineering, understand technical constraints, and contribute to code repositories
- Solid understanding of WCAG AA guidelines and accessibility considerations for components and tokens
- Expert knowledge of Figma, complex component construction, variables, prototyping, and basic GitHub processes
- Compliance with hybrid office policies requiring work from the San Francisco office on designated days
Qualifications
- Experience with LLM-readable documentation
- Experience with MCP servers
- Experience with AI-assisted design tooling
Core Skills
Benefits
- Competitive base pay
- Equity in the form of restricted stock units
- Standard employee benefits
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a remote or hybrid role?
This is a hybrid position based in San Francisco. Employees in this role are expected to work from the office approximately two to three days per week.
What level is this position?
The level of this role is equivalent to a Senior Staff-level position.
What salary does this position offer?
The exact salary is not stated in the posting, though Gusto notes that cash compensation ranges for the San Francisco and New York markets span from $178,000 to $253,000 per year, determined by experience and expertise.
What tools and technologies are used in this role?
The role utilizes Figma for design helper tasks, but deliverables are written in code. Candidates are also expected to use AI tools such as Claude or Copilot, and contribute to code repositories using GitHub.
Sample Interview Questions
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