Ontology and Taxonomy Lead

 

About Gusto

Gusto is a modern, online people platform that helps small businesses take care of their teams. On top of full-service payroll, Gusto offers health insurance, 401(k)s, expert HR, and team management tools. Today, Gusto offices in Denver, San Francisco, and New York serve more than 300,000 businesses nationwide.

Our mission is to create a world where work empowers a better life, and it starts right here at Gusto. That’s why we’re committed to building a collaborative and inclusive workplace, both physically and virtually. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy. 

About the Role:

We’re seeking an experienced ontologist and taxonomist who will play a vital role in designing, building, and structuring Gusto's knowledge systems. Your work will directly enhance knowledge management, customer education, and our agent (Gustie) experience. You’ll design, implement, and maintain taxonomies and ontologies that improve access to information for internal teams and customers, enabling seamless interactions and data-driven service-delivery. 

About the Team:

This role will be a strategic partner for many leadership teams- including leaders on CX, Product Management, Engineering, Design, and Data Science- for identifying, planning, and delivering on our roadmap and key strategic priorities that rely on knowledge management. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring our taxonomies and ontologies support business goals, enhance data interoperability, and improve knowledge discovery.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Develop and maintain semantically rich and scalable taxonomies and ontologies that deliver enterprise level semantic data and power Gusto’s knowledge systems. .
• Create intuitive and functional taxonomies for structuring customer data and insights, enabling seamless access and understanding.
• Work with cross-functional teams, including Knowledge Management, Customer Education, and Customer Insights, to align ontological structures with organizational goals.
• Partner with product, engineering, and data teams to integrate ontologies into AI-driven insights, tools and systems.
• Establish governance frameworks for taxonomy and ontology maintenance, providing guidance and training to internal stakeholders.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and incorporate cutting-edge methods to enhance Gusto’s knowledge and semantic data infrastructure.

Here’s what we're looking for:

• 10+ years of experience in taxonomy development or ontology design.
• Strong understanding of taxonomy principles, information architecture, and metadata standards.
• Experience in customer-focused ontology design, particularly in SaaS or technology environments.
• Practical knowledge of customer support processes and the ability to translate business needs into actionable taxonomy solutions.
• Experience with Semantic Web technologies, query languages and ontology editing tools.
• Strong problem-solving capabilities and attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively across departments, balancing technical precision with practical application.
• Outstanding communication and storytelling skills for translating technical work into actionable insights.
• Proficiency in data analysis and user experience principles.
• Track record and passion for developing and managing high-performance knowledge programs is preferred. 
• Familiarity with AI and machine learning techniques for knowledge integration is a plus.

Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $158,000 - $187,000/yearly in Denver & most major metro locations, and $187,000 - $220,000/yearly 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.

Gusto has physical office spaces in Denver, San Francisco, and New York City. Employees who are based in those locations will be expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week (or more depending on role). The same office expectations apply to all Symmetry roles, Gusto's subsidiary, whose physical office is in Scottsdale.

Note: The San Francisco office expectations encompass both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas. 

When approved to work from a location other than a Gusto office, a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection is required.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of