Principal, 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 Join the AI Agent Engineering team, where we're pioneering cutting-edge HR & Finance AI Agents that deeply integrate within the Workday suite. Be part of an innovative, agile force architecting intelligent agents that will revolutionize our customers' workday. About the Role We are seeking an expert AI Agent Principal Engineer who will serve as a lead engineer for a multi-functional team building ground-breaking AI agents for HR & Finance. This role is critical in defining the tooling strategy, staying ahead of industry trends, and ensuring our AI solutions seamlessly integrate deeply within the Workday stack. You will be responsible for evaluating and selecting AI frameworks, orchestrating agent workflows, and using LLMs, automation frameworks, and enterprise AI technologies to design and develop scalable, reliable and trusted AI agents for both the HR and Finance. You will lead a team of engineers to quickly iterate on strategic agentic solutions for HR and Finance. Key Responsibilities: Lead a high performing team of innovative engineers to deliver AI-powered agents that integrate deeply into HR and Financial workflows, accelerating intelligent decision making. Understanding of AI Lifecycle: Extensive knowledge of the AI system lifecycle, including problem definition, data acquisition, model training, system integration, and validation Evaluate, select, and integrate AI tools, frameworks, and platforms to ensure scalability, efficiency, and compliance Stay up to date with advancements in AI, LLMs, RAG, autonomous agents and orchestration frameworks to drive innovation Work with product, engineering, and data science teams to innovate and implement AI-based automation solutions that enhance HR and financial operations. Collaborate with external AI vendors, cloud providers, and open-source communities to bring the best-in-class technologies into our AI stack. Establish monitoring, feedback loops, and continuous learning mechanisms to improve agent performance over time. Committed to revolutionizing the industry with AI technologies in HCM and Financial systems. Building responsible AI into our Agent Factory pipeline supporting various systems. About You Basic Qualifications • 8+ years of experience with product engineering leading the development and delivery of highly available cloud products • 5+ years proven experience in AI, machine learning, or intelligent automation, with a focus on enterprise applications. • 2+ years experience with LLMs, AI agents, and orchestration frameworks (e.g. LangGraph) • 5+ years experience with Python, cloud AI services (AWS, Azure, GCP), and AI model deployment. Other Qualifications Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field, such as Computer Science, Mathematics, or Engineering. Experience with enterprise-grade AI architectures, API integration, and large-scale automation. Hands-on experience with vector databases, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and fine-tuning LLMs. Proven track record to tackle sophisticated business challenges by translating them into innovative, AI-powered solutions that drive measurable results Experience with data privacy, security, and compliance for AI in enterprise environments Experience developing and deploying machine learning solutions using large-scale datasets, including specification design, data collection and labeling, model development, validation, deployment, and ongoing monitoring. Experience with fine-tuning AI models including identifying and curating datasets as well as experimenting with models for iterative improvement 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: $197,000 USD - $295,400 USD Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $187,100 USD - $334,300 USD Additional Considerations: If performed in Colorado, the pay range for this job is $197,000 - $295,400 USD based on min and max pay range for that role if performed in CO. The application deadline for this role is the same as the posting end date stated as below: 07/31/2026 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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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. Join Our Talent Community here! Stay connected with Workday: Get the latest news & content Be first to hear about new roles Never miss an opportunity Career Site Benefits Join Our Talent Community Workday Life Blog Inclusion and Belonging Application and Interview Tips Early Careers / Internships Contractor Job Site ‍ Engineering, but brighter. Sales, but brighter. CX & Consulting, but brighter. Visit our Career Site here. Read more below to learn more on our stance on being a proud equal opportunity workplace, pay transparency and accommodation support. Workday is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Workday are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Further, pursuant to applicable local ordinances, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We do not accept resumes from headhunters, placement agencies, or other suppliers that have not signed a formal agreement with us. You may view the Workday's Pay Transparency Policy, and Know Your Rights Notice, by clicking on their corresponding links. Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, and others during our application process. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability or for religious reasons, contact us at View email address on click.appcast.io.