Associate Principal, Financial Data

<div class="content-intro"><p style="line-height: 1.2;">&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p><strong>About Gusto</strong></p> <p>At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.</p> <p>&nbsp;<br>All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our<a href="https://gusto.com/about/careers/total-rewards" target="_blank"> <u>Total Rewards philosophy</u></a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;<br>AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.</p></div><p><strong>About the Role:</strong></p> <p>Platform Accounting is the financial engine behind Gusto's payment platform. We record customer cash movements and liabilities, and increasingly corporate cash activity across new and expanding product lines, on Gusto's homegrown payroll infrastructure. This work directly underpins our financial statements, audit readiness, and compliance.</p> <p>The Associate Principal, Financial Data role is a high-impact position bridging Data, Product Engineering, Accounting, and Finance Operations. This individual will be the steward of financial data integrity, owning the crucial connective layer that ensures all financial data is accurate, complete, and prepared for audits, particularly as the business expands and new products are launched.</p> <p>This role requires a unique combination of expertise: deep knowledge in accounting and business context, proven experience in maintaining data integrity, and a strong passion for applying innovative AI solutions to financial operations. We are looking for a naturally curious and forward-thinking candidate - someone who is already experimenting with AI tools, developing intelligent workflows, and constantly seeking the next opportunity for optimization.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Own the financial data layer that feeds close, reporting, and controls: ensuring accuracy, completeness, and auditability from source to output</li> <li>Own financial and regulatory reporting (money transmission, payroll compliance) across core business and new products, exercising independent judgment on how reporting should be structured, validated, and maintained</li> <li>Design and implement AI-powered workflows across reporting, analysis, and controls: evaluating where AI can be trusted, where human judgment is required, and raising the bar on what this function produces</li> <li>Direct the design of data controls and documentation standards across financial reporting and compliance workflows, guiding new approaches as audit requirements and business complexity grow</li> <li>Lead data requirements and UAT for new product launches and financial system implementations: defining what needs to be built, evaluating whether it meets the standard, and ensuring reporting is in place before go-live</li> <li>Stay current on AI tools relevant to financial operations and analytics: evaluating and recommending new capabilities as they emerge, and establishing how they are adopted safely and effectively</li> <li>Critically evaluate AI-generated outputs: knowing when to trust them, when to question them, and how to design controls that make financial reporting defensible regardless of how it was produced</li> </ul> <p><strong>You will work across: Accounting, Data, Product Engineering, Operations, Finance Systems, Treasury, and external auditors.</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Here’s what we're looking for:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, or a related field with 6-8 years of relevant experience;&nbsp;</li> <li>CPA, CA, or equivalent preferred but not required</li> <li>High-growth startup or public company experience strongly preferred</li> <li>Experience in FinTech, payments, or payroll is a plus</li> <li>Proficient in