Insurance Carrier Operations Manager

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:

We’re looking for a Senior Manager to lead our Carrier Operations team, a critical pillar within Gusto’s Benefit Operations organization. In this role, you’ll be the operational engine behind our insurance carrier partnerships. You’ll drive escalations to resolution, safeguard data integrity, and ensure a seamless experience for small business customers and their employees. This position is perfect for someone who thrives in complexity, brings clarity to ambiguity, and loves fixing broken systems while scaling operational excellence.

About the Team:

The Carrier Operations team is a cornerstone of Gusto’s benefits ecosystem, bridging the gap between insurance carriers and the small businesses we serve. We specialize in bringing order and clarity to complex processes by ensuring accuracy, compliance, and seamless execution at scale. By partnering closely with Sales, R&D, and Benefits Operations, our team enables both customers and internal teams to work with confidence, knowing the right data and systems are in place to deliver a consistently great experience.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Spearhead Carrier Operations execution by resolving escalations across quoting, underwriting, and fulfillment workflows
• Lead, Coach and Develop a team of 9 individual contributors
• Maintain the accuracy of internal plan libraries, rate tables, and carrier underwriting rule systems
• Ensure end-to-end process documentation, system configurations, and data flows are always audit-ready
• Act as the operational point of contact for carrier partners, coordinating escalations, updates, and tactical needs
• Conduct recurring business reviews with partners, focusing on operational performance, SLA adherence, and improvement opportunities
• Partner with R&D, Sales, and other Benefits teams to improve quoting logic, onboarding workflows, and carrier fulfillment processes
• Drive business impact by identifying operational “hot spots” and leading carrier or process-based interventions to resolve them

Here’s what we're looking for:

• 7+ years of experience in the health insurance or benefits industry, with deep expertise in underwriting rules, carrier operations, or partnership management
• 5+ years leading operational teams or managing complex cross-functional projects
• Strong operational rigor with a bias for execution and systems thinking
• High data fluency; experience with tools such as Excel, Tableau, or Redash, and comfortable using metrics to inform decisions
• Excellent communication and relationship management skills; able to influence across internal and external stakeholders without authority
• A problem-solver at heart: excited to fix broken systems, reduce friction, and prevent issues from recurring
• Bonus: Experience in high-growth SaaS or brokerage environments, with familiarity in quoting engines, API integrations, or plan configuration systems

Our cash compensation amount for this role is $126,810 to $156,399/yr in Denver & most major metro locations, and $146,940 to $191,022/yr 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. This includes non-office days for hybrid employees.

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.

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