Sr. Software Engineer (Distributed Systems)

Your work days are brighter here.

We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.

About the Team

Developer Platform team empowers our customers to expand the business capabilities of Workday by building on our existing technologies with AI capabilities. The mission of the Core Platform Service team is to establish the foundation for Workday Extend providing best in class services such as Event Messaging Platform, Identity Management and Provision services. This team builds critical backend infrastructure services for Workday Extend including security components, inter-service control and communication components using open source and latest technologies.
We work on scalable microservices and distributed systems, leveraging AI-driven development tools and modern coding practices. Our mission is to solve complex technical challenges, accelerating product velocity while ensuring our core services remain resilient and secure.

About the Role

As a Senior Software Engineer, you will play a key role in designing and scaling Workday’s Dev core services platform. You will lead the architecture of critical distributed subsystems, drive technical execution within the team, and collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to deliver robust solutions.

This role requires deep hands-on expertise in distributed systems and microservices, along with a proven track record of translating complex product requirements into scalable code. You will tackle sophisticated technical challenges, champion engineering best practices, and help mentor team members to ensure high-velocity, reliable delivery.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, and evolve secure, scalable, and decoupled core product microservices alongside responsive, intuitive frontend user experiences.

• Implement and maintain resilient distributed systems that support mission-critical product features, ensuring strong performance, reliability, and code quality.

• Translate complex product requirements into functional software solutions, breaking down ambiguous technical challenges into clear deliverables.

• Apply and advocate for best practices in domain-driven design, robust API contract management, comprehensive testing, and end-to-end observability.

• Leverage and champion AI-assisted engineering tools (such as Cursor or Claude Code) and modern coding techniques to accelerate delivery and improve code quality.

• Enhance the overall developer experience on the Workday Extend platform by building scalable software solutions that align with modern full-stack paradigms.

• Collaborate closely with product managers and designers to refine requirements and ensure seamless integration between backend capabilities and user interfaces.

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to mid-level and junior engineers, conducting constructive code reviews and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

• Actively contribute to team discussions regarding technical debt reduction, architectural modernizations, and the adoption of cutting-edge development tools.

About You

Basic Qualifications:

Workday Pay Transparency Statement

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below.  Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please click here.

Primary Location: USA.GA.Atlanta

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $168,500 USD - $252,700 USD

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $160,100 USD - $285,100 USD

Our Approach to Flexible Work
 

With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.

At Workday, we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills. If you require assistance or an accommodation at any point, please email [email protected].

Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Workday about our Employee Referral process!

At Workday, we value our candidates’ privacy and data security.  Workday will never ask candidates to apply to jobs through websites that are not Workday Careers. 

  

Please be aware of sites that may ask for you to input your data in connection with a job posting that appears to be from Workday but is not.

  

In addition, Workday will never ask candidates to pay a recruiting fee, or pay for consulting or coaching services, in order to apply for a job at Workday.