Payroll Product Manager - Payroll Core

Workday; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday is seeking a Product Manager for the Payroll Core team. You will own the product vision for payroll frameworks, calculation engines, and AI-powered agent experiences to deliver value for customers worldwide.

You will learn Workday Payroll deeply, identify feature opportunities, and apply the latest AI tools to accelerate development while collaborating with executives and peer teams to align the roadmap with business needs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of product management experience in SaaS/enterprise software.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• Proven ability to influence decisions and align across a large org.
• Strong collaboration with Engineering, UX, QA, Content teams.
• Experience with AI tools to develop software solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own the product vision and roadmap for payroll frameworks and AI-powered experiences.
• Learn Workday Payroll deeply to identify new features and process improvements.
• Collaborate with executives and other teams to integrate requirements into the roadmap.
• Coordinate with Engineering, UX, QA, and Content to deliver new experiences.
• Build KPIs and processes to measure and optimize delivered solutions.
• Engage with customers to translate feedback into product requirements.

Skills

Product management

SaaS

AI experience

Cross-team collaboration

Decision making

Customer advocacy

Learning AI tools

Business influence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Computer Science

Tools

Cursor

AI-assisted development environments

Job description

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.

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

The Payroll Core team builds the foundational frameworks and calculation engines that power Workday Payroll across the globe. By developing the core infrastructure that supports country payroll localization, we play a central role in expanding Workday Payroll into more countries and enabling our customers to manage payroll with confidence worldwide. We also build out APIs and tools that fuel Workday's AI agents, connecting intelligent automation to high-value payroll workflows.

In the year ahead, our focus will be on building agentic skills for payroll and self-service agents to process high-value use cases, and on using AI tools such as Cursor and large language models to accelerate the development of Workday Payroll for new countries. If you enjoy collaborating with a supportive team that is always looking for fresh ways to innovate with new tools and processes, this is a great place to grow your career.

About The Role

As a Product Manager on the Payroll Core team, you will be a key contributor shaping the design of Workday Payroll. You will own the product vision and roadmap for payroll frameworks, calculation engines, and AI-powered agent experiences, ensuring that every feature delivers meaningful value for customers around the world.

• Learning Workday Payroll in depth and identifying new opportunities for product feature development and process improvement by analyzing customer requirements, market trends, and competitive gaps
• Learning and applying the latest AI tools—including large language models and AI-assisted development environments—to accelerate product development, improve workflows, and bring solutions to market faster
• Collaborating with partners across the business—including executives and other product teams—to integrate requirements into the product roadmap and provide accurate timelines and project updates
• Partnering with Software Engineering, UX, Quality Assurance, and Content teams to coordinate development and rollout of new customer experiences
• Building performance indicators and processes to measure the efficiency of the experiences being delivered, and identifying opportunities for further optimization
• Conducting meetings and design sessions with external customers, translating insights into product requirements and product vision

About You

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years experience in product management, defining and delivering SaaS and/or cloud-based enterprise software products or features.

Other Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline such as Business, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• Business Influence: Ability to shape decisions and drive alignment within a large organization, including mastering persuasive communication and developing relationships that help move initiatives forward
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Experienced in working effectively with members from different teams and departments—such as Engineering, UX, QA, and Content—to deliver on shared goals, fostering a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect
• Customer Advocacy: Skilled in understanding and addressing customer needs, representing their interests within the organization, and influencing product development based on customer feedback to improve retention and satisfaction
• Decision Making: Skilled at evaluating multiple alternatives and selecting the best course of action, including risk assessment, problem-solving, and balancing data with sound judgment to drive product outcomesResearch: Experienced in systematically collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information to deepen understanding of payroll markets, customer needs, and competitive dynamics that inform product strategy
• AI Experience: Using AI tools to develop or implement software solutions

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.Pleasanton

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $140,000 USD - $210,000 USD

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $117,800 USD - $210,000 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.

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 [e-mail], as far in advance as possible.

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