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
Product Engineering builds the end to end product experiences that Workday customers use. Many of these experiences are now powered by agents and AI, which depend on a strong API foundation.About the Role
We are seeking a Principal‑level API Architect in Product Engineering to lead our API strategy for agentic and integration‑heavy scenarios. You will own the API architecture vision for Product Engineering, set standards (OpenAPI, patterns, error models, observability), and partner with engineering leaders to make them real.
In this role, you will:
What you’ll do
About You
Basic Qualifications
12+ years of experience building large‑scale, mission‑critical backend systems and APIs.
5+ years in a senior architecture or staff‑plus role with responsibility for cross‑team or organization‑wide API/platform architecture.
Deep hands‑on experience using TypeScript or Python to build web services and APIs (REST, SOAP, GraphQL, JSON, XML, WSDL, Swagger/OpenAPI)
Understanding of the MCP protocol specification and architecture
Proven track record of setting and driving technical standards that scale across multiple teams.
Able to prototype reference implementations and dive into code reviews when needed
Other Qualifications
Experience leveraging AI‑assisted code generation and review tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) to improve development speed and quality.
Strong expertise in distributed systems and cloud architectures, including high‑throughput, low‑latency services, horizontal scaling, and fault‑tolerant design.
Extensive experience with edge and gateway patterns (routing, auth, throttling, rate limiting, transformation, multi‑tenant concerns).
Demonstrated leadership in API governance: standards definition, contract review, documentation, and lifecycle management.
Experience designing or evolving observability for APIs (metrics, tracing, logging) and using that data to define and monitor SLOs.
Familiarity with agentic AI use cases and patterns for integrating LLMs/agents with enterprise APIs
Experience with data platforms and analytical stores (such as Data Cloud or equivalent) and designing APIs that expose data safely and efficiently.
Ability to collaborate and influence across Product Engineering, platform teams, and business stakeholders.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to articulate complex technical topics in simple, compelling terms.
Passion for growing others: mentoring staff‑level engineers, supporting managers, and building a strong API culture within Product Engineering.
Growth mindset and comfort working in evolving spaces where the operating model is still being defined.
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.CA.PleasantonPrimary Location Base Pay Range: $206,400 USD - $309,600 USDAdditional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $173,300 USD - $309,600 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 accommodations@workday.com.
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