Principal Software Development Engineer

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

Agent Factory is where Workday’s next chapter gets built. We’re forming small, senior, cross-functional AI teams that bring together product leaders, machine learning engineers, and full-stack builders to create intelligent agents used by millions of people every day. This is production-grade AI-deeply embedded into Workday’s platform-not research experiments or maintenance work. Teams own problems end to end, collaborate tightly across disciplines, and use the right tools to solve real customer challenges at global scale. You’ll work at the intersection of AI, platform architecture, and human workflows, with the autonomy to shape how agents reason, act, and scale responsibly. High trust, high expectations, and real impact. Engineering, but brighter.

About the Role

As a Principal Full Stack Software Engineer in Agent Factory, you’ll help build the user-facing and platform experiences that bring Workday’s AI agents to life. Working within a small, cross-functional pod, you’ll design and ship full stack solutions-from intuitive front-end experiences to resilient backend services that integrate AI-driven capabilities deeply into HR and Finance workflows. This role is about turning powerful technology into products people actually use: scalable, reliable systems that simplify complex business processes for customers around the world. You’ll collaborate closely with machine learning engineers, product managers, and platform teams, owning features end to end and seeing your work run in production. If you enjoy building real products, solving meaningful problems, and working with people who care about quality and craft, you’ll feel right at home here.

Your responsibilities:

• Build and deliver full stack features that power AI agents embedded in HR and Financial workflows
• Own services and experiences from development through production-you build it, you run it
• Collaborate in an iterative, team-first environment that values strong engineering practices and continuous learning
• Share knowledge, mentor teammates, and help raise the technical bar across the pod

About You

Basic Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering
• 5+ years experience with a web development framework (Python preferred: Flask, Django, or FastAPI)
• 5+ years with a Relational DB (PostgreSQL preferred)

Other Qualifications:

• Experience building and operating SaaS products in cloud environments (AWS preferred)
• Familiarity with the tradeoffs and architecture of modern distributed systems
• Knowledge of software development best practices (DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, observability)
• Hands-on experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with Elasticsearch
• Exposure to additional programming languages like Java (backend) and TypeScript (frontend/fullstack) is a plus
• Proven success working within fast-paced, agile environments and cross-functional teams
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to collaborate with both technical and non-technical partners
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and translating complex problems into clear, thoughtful solutions
• Committed to fostering an inclusive, team-oriented environment and contributing to a culture of continuous 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: CAN.BC.VancouverPrimary CAN Base Pay Range: $168,000 - $252,000 CADAdditional CAN Location(s) Base Pay Range: $168,000 - $252,000 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.

Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision-making to any degree. Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law.

Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodations, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law.

If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email [email protected], as far in advance as possible.

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.