Principal Cloud Engineer - US Federal

Workday, Inc.; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 192,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. is seeking a senior cloud architect to drive cloud strategy, architecture, and migration across DoD-related contracts in the U.S. federal space. The role requires U.S. citizenship and extensive experience with AWS or GCP, IaC (Terraform/Ansible), and containerized microservices.

You will mentor a growing team of cloud engineers, collaborate with vendors, and ensure security and compliance while optimizing performance and costs in multi-cloud environments.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• 5+ years in AWS or GCP.
• 5+ years writing code in Ruby, Go, or Python.
• 5+ years delivering IaC with Terraform or Ansible.

Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive cloud strategy aligned with company objectives.
• Lead migration of on-premise systems to the public cloud.
• Establish governance and security for cloud resources.
• Monitor performance and optimize cloud spend.
• Provide technical leadership to cloud engineers.
• Collaborate with vendors and accelerate cloud transformation.

Skills

Public cloud (AWS/GCP)

Programming in Ruby/Go/Python

Infrastructure as code (Terraform/Ansd

Containerization (Docker/Kubernetes)

CI/CD tooling (Git/ArgoCD)

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Docker

Kubernetes

CloudFormation

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’s Public Cloud Infrastructure Team is a diverse group of software developers, cloud engineers & site reliability engineers (SREs) who work together to ensure our cloud infrastructure is secure, scalable, and highly available. We focus on enabling Workday's growth in the public cloud by crafting, deploying and maintaining fully automated, resilient and scalable infrastructure-as-a-service. We constantly strive to streamline processes and reduce manual effort, allowing us to focus on delivering innovative solutions that drive business value. Our team is constantly exploring new technologies and methodologies to improve our processes and systems. If you're passionate about cloud infrastructure, automation, and are looking for a dynamic multi‑cloud work environment, then Workday is the place for you.

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

Responsibilities

• Cloud Strategy and Architecture: Develop a comprehensive cloud strategy aligned with the company's objectives, leveraging Public Cloud.
• Cloud Migration and Deployment: Lead the migration of existing on-premises infrastructure and applications to the public cloud. Collaborate with application teams to assess and plan the cloud readiness of their services. Automate deployment processes, ensuring consistency and efficiency in cloud resource provisioning.
• Cloud Governance and Security: Establish cloud governance policies, guidelines, and best practices to maintain compliance and optimize resource usage. Implement robust security measures to safeguard sensitive data and ensure alignment with industry standards and regulations.
• Performance and Cost Management: Continuously monitor and optimize cloud resources to improve performance and cost-effectiveness. Identify cost‑saving opportunities and recommend solutions to optimize cloud spending.
• Technical Leadership and Mentorship: Provide technical guidance and mentorship to a growing team of cloud engineers. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning within the team.
• Vendor Management and Collaboration: Collaborate with cloud service providers and other third‑party vendors to tap into their expertise and tools effectively.

About You Basic Qualifications

• US CITIZENSHIP IS REQUIRED
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience with one or more of the following public cloud providers: AWS or, GCP
• 5+ years of experience in one of the following functional languages: Ruby, Go, or Python
• 5+ years experience delivering Infrastructure-as-code using Terraform or Ansible.

Other Qualifications Preferred

• DoD 8570/8140 compliant with at least IAT Level Il certification, including a current Computing Environment (CE) credential and one approved specialty certification (e.g., CompTIA CySA+, GICSP, CASP+)
• 10+ years of Software Engineering experience.
• 7+ years experience with Linux operating systems
• Expertise with building solutions in the Public Cloud (AWS or GCP) to meet scalability and reliability needs of web‑scale applications.
• Experience designing CI/CD pipelines (GIT, ArgoCD, etc.) pipelines for adhering to Infrastructure-as-code standard processes
• Experience with communication protocols, restful services, service‑oriented architecture, distributed systems, and microservices.
• Proven track record of successfully leading cloud transformation initiatives for large‑scale enterprises.
• Strong understanding of cloud architecture, standard methodologies, and security principles.
• Proficiency in infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Expertise in containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and microservices architecture.

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: $191,500 USD - $287,300 USD
Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $173,300 USD - $309,600 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.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 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 [e-mail].

Workday is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Workday are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Further, pursuant to applicable local ordinances, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We do not accept resumes from headhunters, placement agencies, or other suppliers that have not signed a formal agreement with us. You may view the Workday's Pay Transparency Policy, and Know Your Rights Notice, by clicking on their corresponding links. 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 accommodation, 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.