About Gusto
At Gusto, we're on a mission to grow the small business economy. We handle the hard stuff — payroll, health insurance, 401(k)s, and HR — so owners can focus on their craft and their customers. With teams in Denver, San Francisco, and New York, we support more than 500,000 small businesses nationwide and are building a workplace that reflects the people we serve.
All full-time employees receive competitive base pay, benefits, and equity (RSUs) — because everyone who helps build Gusto should share in its success. Offer amounts are determined by role, level, and location. Learn more about our Total Rewards philosophy.
AI is a fundamental part of how work gets done at Gusto. We expect all team members to actively engage with AI tools relevant to their role and grow their fluency as the technology evolves. AI experience requirements vary by role and will be assessed during the interview process.
About the Role:
Gusto is seeking a Senior Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) Investigations Analyst to support our Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) program. This is an individual contributor role within the EDD Investigations team, focused on conducting the most complex due diligence reviews to identify, assess, and mitigate regulatory, financial crime, and reputational risk.
In this role, you will independently perform in-depth EDD investigations for the highest-risk customers and most complex entity structures, using a combination of human judgment, open-source intelligence, and AI-enabled tools. You will provide specialized risk analysis to internal partners and make well-supported recommendations on onboarding, monitoring, and exit decisions, balancing regulatory obligations and customer experience.
EDD at Gusto presents unique and intellectually engaging challenges. Our platform supports hundreds of thousands of small businesses across diverse industries, ownership structures, and geographies, which means no two investigations look exactly alike. From onboarding through ongoing monitoring, you’ll work through nuanced risk profiles and layered entity structures that require rigor, sound judgment, and adaptability. This role is ideal for someone who can balance a high volume of reviews with deep, independent investigative work on complex matters, and who uses AI as a core part of how they work to improve both efficiency and quality.
About the Team:
The Enhanced Due Diligence Investigations team conducts thorough reviews of higher-risk customers and activities, from the point of onboarding through ongoing monitoring. The team performs Know Your Customer (KYC) reviews to verify that new customers are legitimate businesses, and evaluates ownership and control structures, source of wealth and funds, adverse media, sanctions exposure, and other risk indicators to ensure Gusto meets regulatory expectations and maintains platform integrity.
Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:
- Independently conduct enhanced due diligence reviews for the highest-risk customers in accordance with internal procedures and regulatory expectations, including periodic and event-driven reviews
- Perform in-depth open-source research and documentation analysis to assess adverse media, sanctions and PEP exposure, industry and geographic risk, source of funds and wealth, and beneficial ownership and control structures
- Evaluate the most complex or multi-layered entities, synthesize findings into clear investigative summaries, and draft Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) when appropriate
- Investigate and independently resolve EDD-related alerts involving sanctions exposure, adverse media, PEPs, marijuana-related businesses, or other elevated risk indicators, making sound, risk-based recommendations and escalating to EDD leadership where guidance is needed to resolve an issue
- Independently perform KYC reviews during customer onboarding, verifying business legitimacy, identity, and beneficial ownership, and resolving complex or escalated cases, including those with opaque ownership structures, high-risk indicators, or conflicting information, with minimal guidance
- Leverage AI-enabled tools to accelerate issue spotting, alert triage, research, and documentation, providing clear context and constraints through prompt refinement while maintaining human judgment and accountability
- Critically review and edit AI-generated research or summaries to ensure accuracy, completeness, and regulatory soundness, applying Gusto's AI policies and data protection standards when handling sensitive information
- Identify opportunities to improve investigative workflows, contribute to EDD desktop guides and training materials, and surface insights on emerging trends to support continuous program improvement
- Mentor junior analysts on open-source research, beneficial ownership analysis, and risk documentation through case reviews and structured feedback
Here’s what we're looking for:
- 5+ years of experience conducting enhanced due diligence, AML investigations, KYC, customer due diligence, or similarly deep investigative or research-driven work
- Strong investigative writing skills with the ability to independently summarize highly complex fact patterns and risk assessments
- Excellent research and analytical skills, including comfort working with large volumes of information
- Extensive experience conducting open-source research and adverse media analysis
- Deep familiarity with regulatory expectations related to EDD, SAR reporting, and customer due diligence
- Ability to apply sound, independent judgment in ambiguous or higher-risk scenarios
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, comfortable managing multiple complex cases simultaneously
- Experience using AI-enabled tools as part of day-to-day investigative workflows, including refining prompts and validating outputs
- Collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams
- Experience mentoring or providing structured feedback to junior investigators
- CAMS or other relevant compliance certifications strongly preferred
Our cash compensation amount for this role is between $89,165/yr - $112,942/yr in Denver and $110,640/yr -$136,456/yr for New York/San Francisco. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above. Compensation for this position also includes an equity package and performance bonuses.
At Gusto, we don't use titles the traditional way, as a signal of rank or hierarchy. Instead, our titles describe two things at once — your craft (what you do, e.g. Engineering, Design) and your scope of ownership (what you're accountable for) — which is why you'll see something like "Head of X" instead of a rank word like "Director" that tells you neither. Because of this, the title on this posting may look different from what you'd expect based on the scope and seniority of the role, and from how similar roles are typically titled elsewhere. If you have questions about how this role compares to your current title or level, your recruiter can help translate.
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. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.
Reliable, consistent presence: We expect regular and predictable attendance, whether you're working in-office, hybrid, or fully remote, so that you stay closely connected to your team, customers, and stakeholders in real time and ensure colleagues and customers receive the timely support and responsiveness they deserve.
Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for small businesses, you will find a home at Gusto.
Gusto is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Gusto considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gusto is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. We want to see our candidates perform to the best of their ability. If you require a medical or religious accommodation at any time throughout your candidate journey, please fill out this form and a member of our team will get in touch with you.
Gusto takes security and protection of your personal information very seriously. Please review our Fraudulent Activity Disclaimer.
Personal information collected and processed as part of your Gusto application will be subject to Gusto's Applicant Privacy Notice.
Gusto San Francisco, California, USA Office
Gusto's San Francisco office is located in a vibrant, up-and-coming area nestled between Potrero Hill and the bay. Formerly a shipbuilding hub dating back to the 1800s, this dockside area retains an industrial vibe. Gusties drive, bike, or take public transportation to our office.
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