Associate General Counsel (Pleasanton)

About the Team

The mission of the Global Legal Services (GLS) team is to enhance the Legal organization’s support for Workday by focusing on simplicity, speed, scale, and skills, thereby accelerating strategic growth and improving the customer experience. The GLS team focuses on developing business strategy for the Legal organization and aligning it with larger Workday initiatives. It leads process optimization, resourcing, and risk management, enabling operational efficiencies in technology management and data harmonization. Additionally, the team develops skills‑based training and provides solutions through project management, strategic analytics, vendor management, and budget coordination.

About the Role

The Global Legal Services team is seeking a Director & Associate General Counsel to join our Center of Excellence. In this role you will lead initiatives to transform how our legal department supports the business, streamlining service delivery to support our scale as a global cloud software leader. You will apply expertise in commercial contracting and legal technology to design efficient, modern processes that directly impact how our organization manages risk and supports strategic growth.

Responsibilities

• Transform contracting models, workflows, and department processes to achieve optimal efficiency and scale, analyzing complexity, effort, and risk.
• Implement a modern contracting strategy for streamlined end‑to‑end contracting processes for customer, partner, inbound, and professional services.
• Develop and maintain transactional infrastructure governance policies and processes and provide direction to the infrastructure transactional councils.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to cross‑functional leaders and advise on a range of complex legal, business, and strategic issues.
• Act as a champion for organizational change and deliver change management to executives, the legal team, and cross‑functional audiences.

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience as a practicing attorney in a law firm or in‑house/public sector legal department.
• 5+ years of in‑house legal experience with a focus on commercial transactions (experience with professional services, partner programs, and inbound/vendor contracting is a plus).
• 5+ years of experience in modern contract drafting, legal transformation initiatives, and contract lifecycle management (CLM) concepts.
• J.D. degree and membership in at least one state bar.

Other Qualifications

• Deep understanding of commercial, vendor, partner, and strategic contracting model needs of a Fortune 500 cloud software provider.
• Substantial background in providing legal guidance to global entities on commercial contracting matters.
• Excellent contract drafting skills and experience negotiating customer/sales contracts with large enterprise organizations.
• Proven track record of advising cross‑functional leaders within rapidly expanding organizations.
• Analytical and methodological approach to problem‑solving with keen attention to detail and pragmatic risk management.
• Experience working in an agile environment and collaborating effectively with cross‑functional teams.
• Ability to identify and leverage workflow automation tools to streamline operations and improve business efficiency.
• Strong communication and listening skills to effectively gather requirements and maintain stakeholder relationships.
• Strong interest in AI solutions and their application in data analysis, with a willingness to learn and contribute to model development and deployment.

Compensation and Benefits

Primary location: USA CA Pleasanton – base pay range: $223,700USD to $335,500USD. Additional U.S. locations: $188,900USD to $335,500USD. The role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role‑specific commission/bonus, and annual refresh stock grants. Flexible work arrangements are available, with an expectation to spend at least 50% of time in the office each quarter.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity Statement

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer, fully compliant with all applicable laws. Qualified applicants with convictions or criminal records may be considered. Workday does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, gender, 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, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, and others during the hiring process.