Principal Economist

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 400,000 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. 

What you’ll do day-to-day:

• In addition to collaborating with Gusto’s team of economists, you will partner with Gusto’s Data Science, Policy and Communications teams to help develop and execute a research agenda related to entrepreneurship, small business trends, and labor and workforce trends.
• Identify the data and methods needed to produce robust, unbiased research that addresses knowledge gaps and informs new policy and company strategy.
• Conduct quantitative analysis of platform and external data using everything from basic analysis to advanced econometrics and data science techniques. 
• Design and author regular and special topics reports and analysis, aligned with the research agenda. 
• Stay abreast of the latest academic literature and public research related to entrepreneurship, small business, employment and labor market dynamics. Be a subject matter expert on these issues. 
• Form research partnerships with academic institutions, industry trade groups, and other organizations.  
• Collaborate with the Communications team and represent Gusto research and analysis externally to media, policy, customer, and partner audiences.
• Serve as one of the company’s primary external spokespeople at events, and present research findings to legislators, trade groups, as well as broadcast, print and online media.
• Serve as an advocate and influencer for the rest of the business to develop the ability to collect and use data, research, and analysis for greater long-term growth.

What we’re looking for:

• Graduate degree in Economics, Quantitative Sociology, Public Policy or related quantitative discipline. Ph.D. preferred. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to tailor communication to business, media/press, academic, technical and political audiences.
• Strong quantitative analysis skills, including advanced skills in Python (preferred) or R. Advanced knowledge of SQL is not a prerequisite for hire, but a strong knowledge is required for success in this position . 
• Curious mind with a strong ability to develop meaningful and relevant research questions about entrepreneurship and work, and pursue a practical research program to answer them. 
• Understanding of publicly available data sources and how they can be paired with platform data or used to conduct research and derive insights. 
• Experience with quantitative research and analysis in the area of labor economics, or entrepreneurship/ small business dynamics.
• Enthusiasm for helping small businesses create economic wealth and prosperity for themselves and their workforce. 
• Knowledge/experience with survey design and/or qualitative methods is a plus. 
• Knowledge/experience with manipulating and analyzing administrative data. 

What’s in it for you:

• The opportunity to lead a high-performing, agile, and supportive team, and influence the direction of the business. 
• Shape the conversation about issues that affect the SMB economy and its workforce. 
• Develop research and data that are used by government, non-profits, and the private sector for decision-making. 
• Diverse work. This role includes research, partnership and relationship-building, communicating with media and external audiences, and shaping/influencing business decisions. 
• Build credibility and authoritative voice around topics of vital interest to the US economy.
• Support the success of small businesses and promote entrepreneurship as a path to prosperity for owners and their workforce.
• Build relationships with world-class research and academic organizations. 

Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $171,000 - $209,000 for San Francisco & New York, and $145,000 - $178,000 in Denver & most remote locations. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Gusto has physical of