Product Designer, Contractors

About the role

You will own the end-to-end design strategy and execution for the contractor products at Gusto, shaping the platform and customer experiences from discovery through iterative delivery. You will serve as the IC design leader, driving foundational shifts for established, business-critical workflows in partnership with a cross-functional team. You will translate insights from research and data into intuitive, scalable solutions that meet both customer and business needs. You will bring genuine AI fluency to your practice, using it to prototype quickly, shorten feedback loops, and ship quality UX directly to customers. You will mentor and support fellow designers by offering critique, sharing knowledge, and contributing to design community initiatives. You will champion thoughtful, inclusive design by participating in design reviews, sharing feedback, and contributing to design standards and platform quality. You will partner with product, engineering, research, data, legal, compliance, operations, and support to define problem spaces, align on priorities, and deliver solutions.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Drive end-to-end design strategy and execution across the contractors experience from discovery and visioning through iterative delivery and refinement.
• Partner with product, engineering, research, data, legal, compliance, operations, and support to define problem spaces, align on priorities, and deliver solutions that meet both customer and business needs.
• Translate insights from research and data into intuitive, scalable experiences that support a variety of customer workflows.
• Champion thoughtful, inclusive design by participating in design reviews, sharing feedback, and contributing to design standards and platform quality.
• Bring genuine AI fluency to your design practice, using it to prototype quickly, shorten feedback loops, and improve contractor experiences.
• Mentor and support fellow designers by offering thoughtful critique, sharing knowledge, and contributing to design community initiatives across Gusto.
• Define and own the long-term vision and strategic roadmap for the contractor product design portfolio in collaboration with cross-functional leaders.
• Conduct and synthesize user research to uncover pain points, motivations, and unmet needs that inform design decisions.
• Create clear design systems and component libraries that enable efficient and consistent product development across web and native platforms.
• Collaborate closely with engineering to ensure designs are implemented accurately and performant, iterating based on real-world feedback.
• Use data to validate design decisions, identify opportunities, and measure the impact of your work on key product metrics.
• Represent the customer voice within the team, advocating for usability, accessibility, and delightful experiences.
• Explore emerging technologies and design methods to continuously improve the contractor hiring and management experience.
• Work within agile processes, contributing to planning, critique, and retrospectives while helping maintain momentum and clarity.

Requirements

• You are a practicing product designer with a strong portfolio that demonstrates your ability to design complex, data-driven experiences.
• You have experience working with design systems and component libraries, and you understand the principles of scalable design.
• You are comfortable using AI tools in your design process and can demonstrate how you have integrated them into your workflow.
• You have a proven track record of collaborating effectively with cross-functional partners including engineering, product, research, and data.
• You are comfortable making decisions in ambiguous environments and articulating the rationale behind your design choices.
• You have experience managing multiple priorities and owning end-to-end delivery in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills and can communicate design rationale to both practitioners and executives.
• You are passionate about building inclusive products and considering accessibility in your designs.

Nice to have

• Experience with products used by small businesses and contractors.
• Familiarity with payroll, compliance, or HR-related workflows.
• Background in AI-assisted design tools and prompt fluency.
• Experience contributing to open source design systems or developer tools.
• Knowledge of Gusto's product suite and small business operations.

Practical notes

• Work is exempt.
• New York, NY; San Francisco, CA.
• This role requires authorization to work in the United States. No current sponsorship available.