Senior Architect, People Technology & Workday AI

Okta; Bellevue (WA); Hybrid; USD 178,000 - 244,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision insurance

401(k)

Paid leave

Job summary

Okta is seeking a senior architect to lead the People Technology portfolio, shaping future Workday architecture and adjacent platforms. You will partner with HR, Finance, and Security to drive AI-powered HR innovations, establish governance, and mentor cross-functional teams in a hybrid work model.

You will own Workday environment strategies, enable scalable integrations, and ensure SOX compliance while delivering high-impact HR technology solutions across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in IT, including 10+ years of hands‑on Workday expertise and 4+ years in a Solutions Architect or Enterprise Architect capacity supporting HR/People systems
• Deep Workday architecture knowledge across integrations, reporting, and governance, with a proven track record of owning complex tenant management, sandbox strategies, and release readiness protocols
• Strong command of enterprise integration patterns and middleware, with experience connecting adjacent HR and service platforms such as Greenhouse, Cornerstone, and ServiceNow
• Demonstrated experience architecting or evaluating AI capabilities - including Agentic AI and Generative AI - with a strong grasp of responsible AI practices, data privacy, and risk controls
• Proven success operating in an Agile/POD delivery model, partnering with Product Managers, and providing technical governance across internal and external delivery teams
• Deep understanding of compliance and security standards, including SOX controls, global privacy regulations, and user access frameworks such as UAC-04
• Hands‑on experience building or partnering on Model Context Protocol (MCP) designs or similar AI agent frameworks within an enterprise HR context

Responsibilities

• Enterprise Architecture & Ecosystem Strategy: Provide deep architectural oversight across all core Workday domains - including Core HCM, Benefits, Payroll, Absence & Time Tracking, Advanced Compensation, Talent & Performance, Integrations, Reporting, and Security - while partnering with the People Technology Product Manager to define the overall technical vision for the global Hire-to-Retire ecosystem.
• Integration & Infrastructure: Design scalable, secure enterprise integration and middleware solutions that connect People systems with the broader corporate technology stack, ensuring alignment with Okta's enterprise standards, infrastructure, and technology roadmap
• AI, Automation & Innovation: Architect the technical foundation for Okta's HR automation goals, including the design of Agentic AI workflows, a MCP ecosystem spanning Workday and all adjacent platforms, and unified experience layers built within Okta One Studio - while establishing strict architectural guardrails for the responsible use of Generative AI, ensuring data privacy, compliance, and human oversight are embedded into all HR technology innovations
• Hands-On Building & Prototyping: Operate as a true techno-functional builder, developing Proofs of Concept and rapid prototypes to validate complex integrations, new configurations, and innovative solutions before scaling to production
• Product, Platform & Operations Partnership: Partner directly with the People Technology Product Manager to translate business strategy into a prioritized technical roadmap, while providing governance and oversight for internal delivery teams and external vendors
• Technical Feasibility Assessments: Own technical feasibility assessments for net-new vendor tools surfaced through the People Tech intake process, providing integration complexity scoring and architectural recommendation to support PM vendor selection recommendations
• Workday Environment & Release Strategy: Own the Workday environment and release strategy, defining sandbox structures, tenant management protocols, impact assessments, and deployment readiness for all major and minor releases
• Data, Security & Compliance Governance: Shape the HR data architecture to ensure data integrity, enabling advanced People Analytics, leadership dashboards, and robust cross-module data flows with strict adherence to SOX controls and global privacy regulations
• Technical Mentorship & Team Elevation: Serve as a technical mentor for internal analysts, engineers, and functional leads, and advise HR, IT, and Finance executive leadership on technology direction, championing Okta's "Door 2" strategy to drive internal efficiency through AI adoption

Skills

Workday architecture

Enterprise integration

AI capabilities

Agile/Scrum

Security & compliance

Tools

Workday

Greenhouse

Cornerstone

ServiceNow

Job description

Okta is seeking a senior architect to lead the People Technology portfolio, shaping future Workday architecture and adjacent platforms. You will partner with HR, Finance, and Security to drive AI-powered HR innovations, establish governance, and mentor cross-functional teams in a hybrid work model.

You will own Workday environment strategies, enable scalable integrations, and ensure SOX compliance while delivering high-impact HR technology solutions across the enterprise.