Principal AI Researcher

HR Tech Job; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 228,000 - 342,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday is seeking a Principal AI Researcher to lead the AI Research Team within the Agent Factory hub. You will define research roadmaps for agentic reasoning, long-horizon planning, and model alignment, bridging theory to scalable enterprise deployments.

You will mentor a high-impact team, publish at top venues, and collaborate with engineering pods to deliver production-ready services for global enterprises. Flex work is supported, with substantial in-office collaboration.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of AI/ML research or applied science with production-scale impact.
• PhD or Master’s in CS, AI, Math, Physics, or equivalent.
• 4+ years using deep learning frameworks (PyTorch/JAX/TF).
• 2+ years in LLMs/VLMs, training/ RLHF/DPO / agentic reasoning.
• Strong record of top AI publications or industry-defining innovations.

Responsibilities

• Define research direction in Agentic AI and LLMs.
• Advance state-of-the-art in agentic systems (retrieval, grounding, memory, context).
• Lead foundational model research (pre-training, RLHF, DPO).
• Publish in top venues and drive open-source contributions.
• Bridge research to production with Agent Factory engineering teams.

Skills

AI/ML research

Deep learning

LLMs/VLMs

Publications

Leadership

Education

PhD or Master’s in CS/AI/Math/Physics

Tools

PyTorch

JAX

TensorFlow

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.

About the Team

Workday AI Research is a newly built, elite organization dedicated to advancing the state-of-the-art in AI to power the Agentic Enterprise. We sit at the heart of Agent Factory, Workday’s innovation hub. While Agent Factory builds the production-grade agents used by 65M+ people, the AI Research team discovers the fundamental breakthroughs that make those agents possible.

We are a high-impact, "research-to-reality" team. We don’t just conduct experiments in a vacuum; we solve the hardest enterprise-level problems in reasoning, planning, and multi-modal understanding. As a founding member of this research arm, you will help shape our research culture, publication strategy, and the fundamental intelligence layer of the Workday platform.

About the Role

As a Principal AI Researcher, you will be a technical founder and visionary for the Workday AI Research Team. This is a role for a scientist-leader who thrives on defining the frontier rather than just following a roadmap. You will move the needle on how LLMs and autonomous agents function within the complex, high-trust environment of global enterprise data.

You will bridge the gap between groundbreaking theory and massive-scale application. Your work will involve defining research roadmaps for agentic reasoning, long-horizon planning, and model alignment, ensuring that Workday remains the world leader in responsible, intelligent enterprise agents.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define research direction in Agentic AI and LLMs.

• Advance the state of the art in agentic systems, including retrieval, grounding, memory, context, personalization, etc.

• Foundational Model Research: Advance Workday’s proprietary capabilities in pre-training, post-training (RLHF, DPO), and domain-specific alignment for HR and Finance workflows.

• Publish & Open Source: Lead Workday’s contribution to the global AI community through publications at top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, ACL, etc.) and strategic open-source releases.

• Research-to-Production Bridge: Partner with Agent Factory engineering pods to integrate SOTA research into production-ready services that scale to the world's largest organizations.

• Mentorship & Culture: Act as a force multiplier for the newly formed research team, fostering a culture of scientific rigor, curiosity, and high-velocity experimentation.

About You

Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in AI/ML research or applied science, with a proven history of taking products from applied research to global-scale production.

• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Math, Physics, or equivalent technical field.

• 4+ years of professional experience using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, or TensorFlow.

• 2+ years of deep expertise in LLMs or VLMs, specifically in training, alignment (RLHF/DPO), or agentic reasoning frameworks.

• SOTA Publication Record: A strong history of lead-researcher publications in top AI venues OR a proven track record of shipping industry-defining AI innovations to millions of users.

Other Qualifications

• Agentic AI Pioneer: Strong background in reinforcement learning, tool-use, or multi-agent systems.

• Systems Thinking: Ability to conduct research under real-world constraints, such as latency, cost-to-serve, and enterprise data privacy.

• Leadership in Ambiguity: Proven experience in building a research agenda from the ground up and leading technical strike teams through open-ended problems.

• Communication: Exceptional ability to translate complex research breakthroughs into strategic value for product leaders and executive stakeholders.

• Ethics & Trust: A deep commitment to developing AI that is explainable, fair, and safe for the world’s largest workforces.

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.PleasantonPrimary Location Base Pay Range: $228,000 USD - $342,000 USDAdditional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $206,000 USD - $370,000 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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