Senior Software Development Engineer - Data Security and Protection
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
Our Chennai office is a thriving tech hub driving core innovations for Workday's global footprint. In the Security Platform group, you will solve complex, large-scale security challenges that impact millions of users worldwide. We offer a highly collaborative environment, competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and a culture that genuinely values work-life balance and continuous career growth.About the Role
As a P4 Senior Software Engineer, you will be a technical leader within the Security Platform organization. Your primary focus will be designing next-generation authorization frameworks, fine-grained access control systems, and distributed data security models that operate at a massive scale. You will not only write critical path code but also mentor junior engineers and influence the architectural roadmap for Workday’s global security infrastructure
Key Responsibilities
Architecture & Leadership: Lead the architectural design and implementation of highly available, low-latency authorization and access control services.
Data Security: Define and implement robust data security boundaries, zero-trust architectures, and policy enforcement points across distributed systems.
Technical Excellence: Drive best practices for code quality, security compliance, multi-tenancy isolation, and system performance optimizations.
Mentorship: Guide, mentor, and unblock P3 and associate engineers on the team, fostering a culture of continuous learning and technical rigor.
Cross-Functional Impact: Partner with security architects, compliance teams, and broad engineering organizations to seamlessly integrate authorization patterns across all Workday applications.
About You
Basic Qualification:
Experience: 7+ years of software engineering experience, with a proven track record of delivering enterprise-grade identity, access management (IAM), or authorization solutions.
Domain Expertise: Deep understanding of access control models (RBAC, ABAC, ReBAC), OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, and modern policy engines (e.g., Open Policy Agent - OPA).
Distributed Systems: Strong experience building high-throughput, low-latency distributed systems using Java, Go, or Scala.
Security Mindset: Deep knowledge of OWASP top 10, threat modeling, and secure design principles for distributed cloud architectures (AWS/GCP).
Soft Skills: Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; proven ability to lead technical initiatives independently.
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.
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