APEX Risk Operations Analyst

Denver, CO - Hybrid · 2+ years experience · Hybrid · Posted Sep 29, 2026

At a glance

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.

The APEX Risk Operations Analyst acts as a fraud-fighting detective for Gusto's partner ecosystem, focusing on the safety and security of Gusto Embedded Payroll and API-driven partnerships.
This role serves as a human-in-the-loop for AI-powered workflows, validating AI outputs, making nuanced decisions on complex cases, and iterating on processes to improve system performance.
The position involves identifying patterns in partner-originated activity and collaborating cross-functionally to optimize risk operations in an AI-native environment.

Supervise and validate AI outputs for fraud and ACH risk cases originating from partner and API activity.
Document anomalies and opportunities for model improvement to fine-tune AI system performance.
Utilize AI tools like Claude and Gemini to automate workflows and improve team efficiency.
Own and optimize operational task queues to unblock partners and internal teams.
Investigate flagged activity to mitigate risk while minimizing friction for legitimate partners.
Deep-dive into high-value, white-glove, and edge cases that are too complex for AI decisioning.
Develop innovative methods to identify trends and patterns in partner and API traffic.
Identify manual pain points in partner-facing workflows and experiment with AI-driven automations.
Collaborate with risk, product, and engineering teams to monitor AI performance and design workflows.
Serve as a subject matter expert for escalations pertaining to partner and embedded payroll risk.

2+ years of experience in operational work, fraud detection, and/or investigation.
Strong problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to structured thinking.
Ability to spot unusual patterns across partner and API activity.
Excellent time management skills with the ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously.
Process and policy oriented mindset.
Comfort experimenting with AI tools and providing structured feedback to guide AI decision-making.
Clear and effective communication skills for interacting with partners and internal teams.

Experience in payments, banking, or fintech.
Experience with API or embedded products.
Familiarity with fraud typologies, ACH risk, transaction patterns, and risk indicators.
Professional certifications such as CFE.
Payroll or payments industry experience.
SQL or data analysis knowledge.
Experience prompting or working with generative AI.

Hybrid role based in Denver, CO.
Employees are expected to work from the office on designated days approximately 2-3 days per week.
Requires a secure, reliable, and consistent internet connection for non-office days.