Principal Software Development Engineer - AI Platform

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.

As a Principal Software Development Engineer for Machine Learning, you will be a team leader, working closely with other engineers and ML researchers to build and deploy robust, scalable AI platforms. You will play a vital role in turning innovative ML concepts into production-ready solutions, with a focus on agentic AI capabilities such as planning, reasoning, and action execution frameworks.

Your Primary Focus:

Basic Qualification 

• 8+ years experience in software development engineering including designing, developing, and deploying software solutions.

• 5+ years of experience in Python, with a consistent track record of shipping production code and systems.

• 5+ of experience building scalable data pipelines and working with large-scale datasets.

• 5+ years of validated experience deploying production services to cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and using containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) for MLOps.

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Other Qualification

• Solid ability in Algorithmic Thinking to design and implement efficient solutions for agentic system development.

• Expertise in the engineering, deployment, and MLOps of advanced machine learning solutions (e.g., generative models, LLMs, RAG, and AI agents), coupled with a strong understanding of scalable distributed systems, performance optimization, database technologies (e.g., PostgreSQL, Redis), and robust API development. 

• Validated algorithmic thinking and a track proven history designing, implementing, and analyzing efficient algorithms for complex problems.

• Demonstrated ability to build flexible, reusable, and well-documented software components, with comprehensive experience in code testing strategies (unit, integration, end-to-end) in a continuous deployment environment. Strong sense of ownership and a proven ability to deliver high-quality, finished products efficiently.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, emphasizing team collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and delivering customer impact.

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.

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.