Senior Payroll and Absence Enterprise Applications Analyst

HR Tech Job; Pleasanton (CA); Hybrid; USD 144,000 - 216,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday in Pleasanton, CA is seeking a P4 Enterprise Applications Analyst to help shape Payroll, Absence and Time Tracking solutions. You’ll go beyond day-to-day support to influence design and product direction, piloting AI agent capabilities internally.

You’ll collaborate with partners, run discovery sessions, configure Payroll settings, test integrations, and drive adoption of AI-enabled tools. A global payroll scope and Scrum practices are expected, with flexibility in a hybrid work model.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in business consulting, IT implementation, or customer support implementing Workday.
• 5+ years of experience with the Workday enterprise platform.
• Heavy Workday Configuration experience in Payroll (must have)
• Excellent functional knowledge of Payroll, in a global setting (US, Canada, and International payroll process and policy)
• Understanding of Workday integration technologies
• Familiarity with or strong interest in AI-driven automation/agentic capabilities within enterprise systems

Responsibilities

• Analyze functional business problems and provide guidance on defining product outcomes for the Payroll, Absence and Time Tracking product suite
• Provide technical expertise in identifying, evaluating, and developing systems and procedures that best meet business partner requirements
• Lead discovery and design sessions with business partners and other stakeholders; identify upstream/downstream impacts, dependencies, and project risks
• Configure Workday Payroll system settings and options — including AI-assisted configuration as Illuminate capabilities roll out — and plan and execute unit testing, advising teams performing integration and acceptance testing
• Evaluate, configure, and drive internal adoption of Workday Illuminate agents (e.g., Payroll Agent, absence/frontline automation) as they roll out
• Identify opportunities to apply AI/agentic automation to reduce manual payroll and absence processing, anomaly detection, and compliance checks
• Drive planning, prioritization, and deployment of projects and system enhancements across the scrum team
• Leverage business knowledge to proactively identify process improvement opportunities
• Participate in change management and go-live support processes
• Partner with the integration team on configuring and testing integrations between Workday and benefit providers, payroll systems, and other 3rd party/custom solutions

Skills

Workday configuration

Payroll

Time Tracking

AI automation

Agile / Scrum

Global payroll

Tools

Workday

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

The Payroll, Absence and Time Tracking scrum team is responsible for the internal implementation and ongoing evolution of Workday's own Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking product suite. As a P4 Enterprise Applications Analyst, you'll go beyond day-to-day support to help shape the solution design and product direction for the team. This team is also expected to pilot and operationalize Workday's own AI agent capabilities internally — including the Payroll Agent and absence-related automation shipping as part of the Workday Illuminate agent suite — as they become available.

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze functional business problems and provide guidance on defining product outcomes for the Payroll, Absence and Time Tracking product suite
• Provide technical expertise in identifying, evaluating, and developing systems and procedures that best meet business partner requirements
• Lead discovery and design sessions with business partners and other stakeholders; identify upstream/downstream impacts, dependencies, and project risks
• Configure Workday Payroll system settings and options — including AI-assisted configuration as Illuminate capabilities roll out — and plan and execute unit testing, advising teams performing integration and acceptance testing
• Evaluate, configure, and drive internal adoption of Workday Illuminate agents (e.g., Payroll Agent, absence/frontline automation) as they roll out
• Identify opportunities to apply AI/agentic automation to reduce manual payroll and absence processing, anomaly detection, and compliance checks
• Drive planning, prioritization, and deployment of projects and system enhancements across the scrum team
• Leverage business knowledge to proactively identify process improvement opportunities
• Participate in change management and go-live support processes
• Partner with the integration team on configuring and testing integrations between Workday and benefit providers, payroll systems, and other 3rd party/custom solutions

About You

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in business consulting, IT implementation, or customer support implementing Workday
• 5+ years of experience with the Workday enterprise platform
• Heavy Workday Configuration experience in Payroll (must have)
• Excellent functional knowledge of Payroll, in a global setting (US, Canada, and International payroll process and policy)
• Understanding of Workday integration technologies
• Familiarity with or strong interest in AI-driven automation/agentic capabilities within enterprise systems

Other Qualifications (Desired)

• Workday Configuration experience in Absence Management (desired)
• Workday Configuration experience in Time Tracking (desired)
• Experience and/or interest/curiosity in applying generative AI or agentic tools to HR/payroll/time-tracking processes (e.g., prompt-based configuration, AI copilots for testing/documentation)
• Working familiarity with generative AI tools such as Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and Microsoft Copilot for productivity, documentation, and business analysis
• Exceptional analytical reasoning and problem-solving capabilities; demonstrated ability to think creatively and strategically to solve key business problems
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills, with a professional demeanor across all levels of management, colleagues, and vendors
• Ability to adapt to changes in project plans, with flexibility to implement new strategies and tactics
• Experience working with agile/scrum methodologies

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.

Primary Location: USA.CA.PleasantonPrimary Location Base Pay Range: $144,000 USD - $216,000 USDAdditional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $121,600 USD - $216,000 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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Please be aware of sites that may ask for you to input your data in connection with a job posting that appears to be from Workday but is not.

In addition, Workday will never ask candidates to pay a recruiting fee, or pay for consulting or coaching services, in order to apply for a job at Workday.