Principal Software Engineer - AI Platform

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

The Workday AI Infrastructure and Operations team is seeking an energetic and determined Software Engineer to design, implement, and deliver highly scalable features for our AI Platform. As a member of this fast-paced group, you will have a unique and rewarding opportunity to shape and contribute towards microservices that power Workday AI features in production. You will partner with Data Scientists, AI Engineers, and other Software Engineers to create the technology that brings these features to life.

About the Role

In this Principal-level role, you will lead high-impact infrastructure initiatives. You will work with public clouds (such as IAAS, AWS, GCP) and apply capacity management principles to build systems that allow developers to streamline their interactions with the AI platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Cluster Consolidation: Architect and implement the consolidation of applications from multiple EKS clusters to optimize resource density and operational efficiency.

• Global CD Architecture: Design a shared continuous deployment and configuration management system capable of operating across two distinct cluster types in multiple global regions.

• ArgoCD Rollout: Lead the strategic rollout of ArgoCD across a massive fleet of clusters, ensuring compliance with strict security standards including FedRAMP environments.

• Infrastructure as Code: Own and develop features from end-to-end including infrastructure as code, specifically increasing the use of Terraform for automation.

• Container Orchestration: Deploy and orchestrate containers in production environments , leveraging Kubernetes and Service Mesh to enhance developer scalability.

• Distributed Systems: Oversee the implementation and operation of distributed systems including the conception, specifying, designing, and documenting involved in creating and maintaining frameworks.

• Collaboration: Actively engage with Tech Leads and AI Engineers across teams to elaborate on requirements and drive technical solutions.

About You

We need creative and dedicated Software Engineers, like you, who really want to move the needle. By nature, you are inquisitive and ready to question the status quo. You have a passion for exploring and implementing innovative techniques and approaches to solve sophisticated and ambitious problems. Most meaningfully of all, you are a superlative collaborator and teammate and bring out the very best in everyone.

Basic Qualifications

• DevOps & Infrastructure Experience: 10+ years of total software engineering or DevOps experience, with at least 8+ years focused specifically on Infrastructure Automation, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or release engineering in a Linux environment.

• Kubernetes at Scale: 5+ years of hands-on experience managing Kubernetes in production. Must have experience managing multi-cluster environments (fleets of 10+ clusters or 500+ nodes).

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Mastery: 5+ years of experience using Terraform to manage public cloud resources (AWS/GCP).

• GitOps & Continuous Deployment: 3+ years of specific experience designing GitOps workflows using ArgoCD. Experience must include architecting deployment strategies for multi-region or distributed environments.

• Production Coding: 5+ years of professional programming experience in Python, specifically focused on building internal tooling, automation scripts, or microservices.

• System Design & Architecture: Proven track record of architecting distributed systems. Must have served as the Lead Architect for at least 2 major infrastructure initiatives that supported high-traffic SaaS applications.

• Pipeline Orchestration: proven experience building end-to-end CI/CD pipelines (using Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar) that enforce security compliance (SOC2, FedRAMP) and automated testing gates.

Other Qualifications

• Architecture: Experience with communication protocols, RESTful services, microservice architecture, distributed systems, and microservices.

• Observability: Experience with monitoring tools like Grafana and building comprehensive monitoring services.

• Education: BS/MS in Computer Science or a related technical field.

• Mentorship: Experience in leading or mentoring other team members and proven team collaboration experience.

• Support: Availability for on-call support on a rotational basis.

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: CAN.ON.Toronto

Primary CAN Base Pay Range: $156,800 - $235,200 CAD

Additional CAN Location(s) Base Pay Range: $156,800 - $235,200 CAD

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.

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