Product Counsel, Payroll and Fintech

Gusto•San Francisco, CA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Gusto is seeking a Product Counsel to join its Product Commercial Legal team and advise on payroll, fintech, tax, and payments products. The role owns end-to-end legal advisory support for product development, reviews, updates, and advancements, partnering with product managers, engineers, designers, business development, commercial, privacy, security, risk, and other stakeholders. The Product Counsel will help enable risk-adjusted product development and lead adoption of AI-driven review tools. The role will establish standards, playbooks, and tools to scale product legal work. It will also set review thresholds, improve processes, and educate legal, compliance, and business teams about industry practices and innovations in product development and counseling. Gusto describes its Legal & Compliance team as a partner to product teams, enabling innovation and responsible growth through solution-focused advice on legal and business risks.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) degree and membership in a state bar with an active license to practice law.
At least 7 years of combined legal experience, including experience in an in-house legal department at a technology company.
Experience supporting development, launch, and scaling of payroll, fintech, tax, and payment products, including highly regulated domestic and global products.
Ability to build consensus and strong relationships.
Ability to collaborate with business clients so they understand and own risk-based decisions.
Creative problem-solving skills and ability to balance legal risk with business needs.
Attention to detail and ability to follow through in a fast-paced environment.
Collaborative approach and ability to work under pressure, cross-functionally, and independently.
Experience working closely with Commercial or Contracts Counsel to support deal closure.
Experience with AI review tools such as GCAI or similar.
Demonstrated success building and improving processes.

Nice To Haves

Passion for AI and technology as drivers of legal transformation.
Familiarity with regulated industries such as financial services, payroll/tax SaaS, or healthcare.
Creative problem-solving skills and confidence taking smart risks.
Energy, curiosity, and drive to contribute to groundbreaking work.
Team-first approach and willingness to take on work of varying size.

Responsibilities

Navigate complex regulatory frameworks to design and mature payroll, fintech, tax, and payments products.
Anticipate challenges, solve problems creatively, and help define business strategy as Gusto expands products for US businesses hiring or preparing to hire employees and contractors.
Counsel Product, Engineering, Design, and Business teams on payroll products and partnerships, domestic and international payments, data privacy, and tax.
Develop scalable processes to manage legal risk and accelerate product expansion.
Partner with the Commercial Team on product risk, contract redlines, and negotiations with counterparties.
Test, pilot, and recommend next-generation AI solutions for the Product Legal team.
Own legal advisory support for product development, reviews, updates, and advancements in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Lead adoption of AI-driven review tools and establish standards, playbooks, and tooling to scale product legal support.
Set review thresholds, improve ways of working, and educate legal, compliance, and business teams on emerging practices and product counseling.