Senior Software Development Engineer (US Federal)

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

Your work matters here. At Workday Government, we focus on outcomes that serve a larger mission. Our work supports U.S. federal agencies as they modernize and transform the full employee lifecycle experience and finance operations—so they can operate with greater clarity, accountability, and trust. As a Fortune 500 company and a proven enterprise cloud platform, Workday brings modern technology, responsible AI, and secure infrastructure to some of the most complex environments in the world. The work isn’t theoretical. It’s operational. It’s high-impact. And it demands rigor, integrity, and long-term thinking.

From day one, you’ll be part of a team that values collaboration, follow-through, and doing the right thing—especially when the stakes are high. Our culture is grounded in integrity, respect, and shared responsibility. We challenge each other to think clearly, act thoughtfully, and build solutions that stand up to real-world demands. Here, curiosity is matched with accountability. Ambition is paired with trust. You’ll have the space to do your best work, the support to keep growing, and the backing of a company committed to long-term investment in both its people and the federal mission.

If you’re looking to apply your experience to meaningful, mission-driven work—alongside colleagues who take pride in building things that last—you’ll find that opportunity at Workday

About the Role

This role will support one or more direct or indirect contracts with the U.S. Federal Government which, due to federal government security requirements, mandates that all Workday personnel working on the contracts be United States citizens (naturalized or native).

May be required to be on site at client locations in the DC, MD, and VA (DMV) area.

About the Role

This role will support one or more direct or indirect contracts with the U.S. Federal Government which, due to federal government security requirements, mandates that all Workday personnel working on the contracts be United States citizens (naturalized or native).

Are you eager to use Workday's vast computing resources and extensive datasets? Do you want to collaborate with extraordinary engineers to build and evolve our Observability data platform? If so, we'd love to hear from you!

Role & Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and enhance critical Observability services, including Monitoring, Logging, Alerting, and Tracing.
• Develop data capture and collection services using pioneering technologies across diverse infrastructure environments (Kubernetes, OpenStack, Bare Metal, etc.).
• Design and develop core software modules for real-time and batch data processing.
• Construct Metrics ingestion pipelines, Alert definitions, and automation for Dashboard lifecycle management.
• Build and deploy infrastructure components in production environments.
• Champion all aspects of observability with a focus on data quality, integrity, and availability.
• Evaluate and implement new open-source and cloud-native tools and technologies as needed.
• Participate in the on-call rotation to support the observability platform.
• Manage and optimize Workday within the air-gapped U.S. AWS cloud regions, forming the core of the team responsible for this mission. Collaborate closely with our commercial software engineering teams responsible for the overall Workday platform.
• Partner with the Workday Federal Cyber Defense team to ensure security operations, cybersecurity posture, governance, risk, compliance, and platform security health.

About You

This role may require a security clearance at the TS/SCI w/CI Poly level. Applicants must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance. An active TS/SCI w/CI Poly is preferred

Basic Qualifications:

• BS/MS in Computer Science or a related technical field.
• Strong software engineering background with a consistent track record of delivering high-quality products at scale.
• Exceptional coding skills (Java, Python; Go is a plus) and the ability to design systems that meet business needs.
• Solid understanding of high-performance data capture and collection systems, API design, and reliable data delivery.
• Good understanding of Time-Series Databases and Log collection and management.
• Good knowledge and understanding of Kubernetes.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience building high-performance data ingestion software, addressing concurrency, latency, and efficiency challenges.
• Excellent interpersonal, technical, and communication skills.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluency in Linux.
• Experience with Infrastructure Automation (Ansible, Chef, Terraform).

Other Qualifications:

• Demonstrable experience with the Prometheus Ecosystem, Elastic Search, Grafana and InfluxData stack.
• Experience with PromQL and InfluxQL.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and Helm.

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.VA.Reston

 

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $163,800 USD - $245,800 USD

 

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $148,200 USD - $264,000 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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