Principal Software Development Engineer - US Federal

Workday; Reston (VA); Hybrid; USD 191,500 - 287,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flex Work

Job summary

Workday is seeking a Principal SDE to support Federal Cloud Platform Engineering, focusing on secure, air-gapped deployments for government contracts. The role requires U.S. citizenship and potential TS/SCI w/CI poly clearance, with on-site work in the DC, MD, VA area.

You will design, implement, and maintain OSes, deployments, and analytics, delivering scalable tools and automation across private and public clouds to support large-scale federal workflows.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required.
• 8+ years in deploying large-scale, complex applications and 3+ years in cloud deployments on AWS or GCP.
• 4+ years of automation tool experience (Ansible, Python, Go, Chef, Puppet).
• 4+ years of cloud networks, servers, storage, and OS; deployment orchestration and automation.
• Hands-on experience with Chef, Puppet, and Ansible for infrastructure automation.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and support operating systems, deployments, and databases on the Workday platform.
• Develop deployment tools and analytics to enable flexible, cost-efficient deployments.
• Coordinate with federal cyber defense teams to maintain security posture and governance.
• Lead cross-team collaboration to deliver robust, scalable solutions.

Skills

AWS

GCP

Azure

Terraform

Puppet

Ansible

Chef

Docker

Kubernetes

Helm

Jenkins

Git

TeamCity

GitLab CI/CD

Go

Python

Ruby

Java

Bash

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Tomcat

ZooKeeper

Kafka

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

Tools

CloudFormation

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes

Jenkins

Ansible

Puppet

Chef

Git

Job description

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. 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.

About The Team

We’re the team that drives the product and strategy for Workday’s secret sauce – our technology platform that was designed from scratch for the cloud. We own the complete stack and tools that deliver and support Workday products across private and public clouds (e.g. on‑premise, AWS, GCP, Azure). We enable Workday’s scale: ~50% of Fortune 500 companies, 8,000+ customers, 55M+ workers, ~365B transactions.

About The Role

This Principal SDE will support one or more direct or indirect contracts with the U.S. Federal Government, which, due to federal security requirements, mandates that all Workday personnel working on the contracts be United States citizens (naturalized or native). The role may require a TS/SCI w/CI Poly security clearance. 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. You may be required to be on site at client locations in the DC, MD, and VA (DMV) area.

As a Principal SDE on the Federal Cloud Platform Engineering team, you will focus on design, development, analysis, acquisition, installation, modification, and support of operating systems, deployments, databases, utilities, and network‑related tools. You will conduct programming and support activities, develop proprietary tools, oversee deployment of Workday technology stack on air‑gapped cloud environments, and deliver analytics to enable optimized deployments company‑wide.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and optimize Workday in the air‑gapped U.S. AWS cloud regions and coordinate with the commercial software engineering teams responsible for the overall Workday platform.
• Partner with the Workday Federal Cyber Defense team to support security operations, overall cybersecurity posture, governance, risk, and compliance, and platform security health.
• Develop and maintain deployment tools and analytics to support company‑wide deployment flexibility and cost savings.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure robust, scalable, and efficient solutions.

Skills

• Cloud platforms & infrastructure: AWS, GCP, Azure, Terraform
• Configuration management & automation: Puppet, Ansible, Chef, Terraform, CloudFormation
• Containerization & orchestration: Docker, Kubernetes, Helm
• CI/CD & DevOps tools: Jenkins, Git, TeamCity, GitLab CI/CD
• Programming & scripting languages: Go (Golang), Python, Ruby, Java, Bash
• Database & middleware: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Tomcat, ZooKeeper, Kafka

Basic Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship required.
• 8+ years in deploying large‑scale, complex applications, with 3+ years in cloud‑based deployments on AWS or GCP.
• 4+ years of experience with automation tools and languages, including Ansible, Python, Go, Chef, and Puppet; proficient in CI/CD, build management, and monitoring.
• 4+ years of experience with networks, servers, storage, and operating systems in cloud environments; skilled in deployment orchestration and automation frameworks.
• Hands‑on experience with infrastructure automation tools like Chef, Puppet, and Ansible.

Other Qualifications

• Preferred DoD 8570/8140 compliant with at least IAT Level II certification, including a current Computing Environment (CE) credential and one approved specialty certification (e.g., CompTIA CySA+, GICSP, CASP+).
• Extensive experience developing orchestration and automation frameworks using Ansible and Jenkins, with cloud deployments.
• Proven ability to introduce, integrate, and implement new technologies rapidly.
• Skilled in network analysis and troubleshooting, using tools like tcpdump to resolve network, firewall, and connectivity issues in collaboration with engineering teams.
• Proficient in Unix/Linux environments, with strong Python scripting expertise for automation and system management.
• Familiar with Agile/Scrum practices, including sprint planning and daily stand‑ups using Jira; excellent communication skills and a collaborative approach in team environments.
• Extensive experience creating and operating automation frameworks for deployment orchestration in production environments.
• Over 5 years of experience building and maintaining pipelined automation for large‑scale deployments across multiple build versions.
• Solid understanding of networks, protocols, servers, storage systems, and operating systems in cloud environments.
• Proficient in at least one core programming language (e.g., Ruby, Python, or Go) for deployment automation.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD processes, build management, monitoring, alerting, and centralized logging for cloud and on‑prem environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience in software engineering and automation.

Workday Pay Transparency Statement

Primary location: USA.VA.Reston
Base pay range: $191,500 USD – $287,300 USD
Additional US locations: $173,300 USD – $309,600 USD

Our Approach to Flexible Work

With Flex Work, we combine the best of in‑person and remote work. We require at least half (50%) of our time each quarter to be spent in the office or in the field with customers, prospects, and partners. Those in remote “home office” roles can also come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

Equal Opportunity & Accessibility

Workday is an equal opportunity employer that considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records under applicable Fair Chance law. 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 an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.