Data Science Intern

 

About Gusto

At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff—like payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR—so owners can focus on their craft and customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we’re proud to support more than 400,000 small businesses across the country, and we’re building a workplace that represents and celebrates the customers we serve. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy. 

About the Role:

Our Data Science internship is a 12-week hybrid summer experience focused on making a significant impact on our customers by being embedded directly into our data teams. Each intern is paired with a dedicated mentor and a team manager, providing guidance and support as they make immediate contributions to the team’s roadmap, directly advancing Gusto’s mission.

At Gusto, we are committed to building a data-driven culture. As a Data Science Intern, you'll be at the forefront of this effort, leveraging our rich datasets to inform critical business decisions and help build the products of the future. You'll gain hands-on experience in the full data lifecycle, from framing business problems and translating them into data requirements to conducting deep-dive analysis, prototyping, and deploying predictive models and statistical tools. Your work will directly support teams across the company, helping to optimize our operations and improve products for hundreds of thousands of small businesses.

Please note: We’ll be offering only one cohort start and end date (May 18 - August 7, 2026).

Deadline to Apply: Tuesday, November 25, 2025

About the Team:

Gusto’s Data Science team leverages Gusto’s rich data to guide product direction and decision-making. We operate full-stack, conduct key driver analyses, run experiments and other methods for inference, and build metrics that help Gusto build the best product possible. 

For this intern role, we are looking for an individual contributor within our Data org.  If you’re ready to hone your Data Science skills while creating software with far-reaching effects for small businesses, we’d love for you to join Gusto this summer!

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day (and we’ll support you so you’re great at it):

• Frame ambiguous product questions into measurable hypotheses, focusing on driving positive outcomes for our customers and our business.
• Design and analyze A/B tests and other experiments to drive data-informed decisions.
• Leverage AI effectively as a development partner to offload manual tasks, explore new product approaches, or evaluate the end-to-end performance of Gusto experiences.
• Communicate complex data concepts and findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, influencing strategy and product direction.

Here’s what we're looking for:

• Someone who is currently pursuing a PhD or MS in a quantitative field such as Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, or a related discipline, with an expected graduation date between December 2026 and June 2027.
• Strong foundational knowledge in analysis, statistical modeling, and experimental design.
• Proficiency in Python or R for statistical analysis and model building.
• Experience with SQL for data querying and manipulation.
• Experience with using AI to solve problems in a business or academic environment
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work in a cross-functional environment and explain complex concepts clearly.
• A strong passion for using data to solve real-world problems and a track record of independent research or project work.
• U.S. work authorization is required. This role is not available for sponsorship.
• This is a hybrid role and will require you to be in the office at least twice a week in our San Francisco or Denver office. Relocation assistance will be provided during your internship.

Pay and benefits

Our cash compensation range for this role for graduate students is $52.88/hr to $57.45/hr in Denver and $66.11/hr to $71.63/hr for graduate students in San Francisco.

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