Prinicipal Forward Deployed Engineer

Workday, Inc. (old); United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. is seeking a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer to bridge hands-on software development with high-impact customer technical strategy.

You will partner with enterprise clients to architect, deploy, debug, and optimize Workday's AI agents and developer platform in live customer environments. You will work across the full deployment lifecycle with AI Deployment Architects, Product Managers, and Services leads to drive immediate customer success and reduce friction by embedding

Qualifications

• 7+ years in Forward Deployed Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Technical Consulting, or Software Development.
• Hands-on coding and debugging skills (Python/Java) with REST APIs and OO design.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, configure, and debug AI agents and integrations inside live enterprise environments.
• Lead technical discovery sessions to translate business requirements into product configurations and specs.
• Capture field telemetry and customer feedback to influence the product roadmap and backlog.
• Identify recurring deployment challenges and turn fixes into out-of-the-box capabilities.
• Collaborate with Services, AI Architects, and Account teams to ensure smooth delivery.
• Guide engagements through milestones from kickoff to graduation, around a 6-month deployment cycle.

Skills

Python

Java

REST APIs

Object-oriented design

System architecture

Integration patterns

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 we to be a match for you too.

About the Team

The Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization sits at the intersection of Product, Engineering, and customer execution across Agent Factory, Sana, Products, and the Developer Platform. When Workday launches new AI agents and products, early deployments surface complex real-world challenges-from unstructured tenant data and intricate configurations to edge-case enterprise workflows. FDE pods deploy directly into active customer engagements to resolve technical friction, debug complex setups, and build lightweight integrations. Crucially, FDEs serve as the primary feedback engine for Product and Engineering: field insights, recurring customer friction, and configuration patterns are converted directly into scalable, out-of-the-box product capabilities.

About the Role

As a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer, you will bridge hands-on software development with high-impact customer technical strategy. You will partner with enterprise customers to architect, deploy, debug, and optimize Workday's AI agents and developer platform solutions within live customer environments. Working across the full deployment lifecycle, you will collaborate with AI Deployment Architects, Product Managers, and Workday Services leads. Your primary objective is twofold: drive immediate customer success and eliminate implementation friction over time by embedding field-tested solutions back into the core platform.

What you'll do:

• Technical Deployment & Engineering: Deploy, configure, and debug AI agents and integrations directly inside live enterprise tenant environments against complex customer workflows and real-world data.
• Customer Discovery & Solution Architecture: Lead technical discovery sessions with key customer stakeholders to translate complex business requirements into robust product configurations, POCs, and integration specs.
• Product Feedback Loop: Capture field telemetry, edge-case failures, and customer friction points to directly influence the core product roadmap and engineering backlog.
• Productization of Field Insights: Identify recurring deployment challenges and transform custom fixes into standardized, automated out-of-the-box product capabilities.
• Cross-Functional Ecosystem Alignment: Partner closely with Workday Services leads, AI Deployment Architects, and Account Teams to ensure seamless project delivery while staying focused on core product strength.
• Engagement Milestones & Graduation: Guide engagements through structured milestones-from kickoff to graduation-enabling self-sustaining customer ownership within standard 6-month deployment cycles.

About You

Basic Qualifications

• Experience: 7+ years in Forward Deployed Engineering, Solutions Engineering, Technical Consulting, or Software Development.
• Technical Execution: Hands-on coding and debugging skills (e.g., Python, Java, or similar) with solid understanding of REST APIs, object-oriented design, system architecture, and integration patterns.
• Customer Interaction: Proven experience working directly with enterprise clients on complex software deployments, live data troubleshooting, and custom workflow integration.

Other Qualifications

• Product Mindset: Ability to abstract generalizable product requirements from bespoke customer issues.
• Communication: Exceptional verbal and written technical communication skills; skilled at translating complex technical challenges for non-technical leadership.
• Ambiguity & Agility: Thrives in fast-paced environments with evolving requirements across Product, Engineering, and Services teams.
• Collaboration: Highly collaborative, low-ego team player adept at working within multi-disciplinary account and delivery pods.

Preferred Qualifications

• Applied experience with LLM-powered or agentic AI systems - e.g., prompt/context engineering, retrieval-augmented genera