Software Development Engineer - AI Infrastructure Development Platform

Workday, Inc.; Colorado; Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. in Boulder, CO is seeking a Software Development Engineer to help build the AI Infrastructure Development Platform, enabling teams to develop, deploy, and operate AI agents in production.

You will design backend services, write Python, deploy on Kubernetes, and collaborate with AI and product teams to deliver scalable, reliable workflows and developer tooling.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of software development experience building backend systems or services.
• Strong proficiency in Python (or similar languages such as Go or Java).
• Experience designing and building distributed systems and scalable services.
• Experience running and operating services in Kubernetes-based environments.
• Familiarity with machine learning or LLM-powered applications and the challenges of running them in production, especially related to their deployment and operational tooling.
• Experience designing systems with a focus on reliability, scalability, observability, and maintainability.
• Strong understanding of APIs, asynchronous processing, and service-oriented architecture.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain services and tooling that support agent deployment, testing, and lifecycle management within the CI/CD pipeline.
• Develop systems for workflow coordination, state management, and tool integration in the context of development and operations.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code in Python to power platform capabilities and APIs.
• Deploy and operate services on Kubernetes, ensuring reliability and scalability.
• Contribute to systems for observability, logging, tracing, and debugging of distributed workflows in development and production.
• Improve system performance across latency, throughput, and fault tolerance.
• Build internal tools and APIs that improve the developer experience for teams using the platform.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and AI teams to deliver production-ready solutions and development infrastructure.
• Participate in design discussions and contribute to system architecture and technical decisions.

Skills

Python

Distributed systems

Kubernetes

Backend systems

APIs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline

Tools

Kubernetes

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

Do you want to build impactful, AI features and solutions that will be used by millions of end-users? We are in the AI Platform organization at Workday and we solve meaningful problems that lie at the intersection of machine learning and enterprise-scale software! We build advanced AI solutions that power the core Workday software by modeling user behavior and providing intelligent automation. Come join us and make it easier and balanced for millions of Workday users!

About the Role

We are looking for Software Development Engineers to help build the AI Infrastructure Development Platform: the platform that enables teams to develop, deploy, and operate AI agents in production. In this role, you will design and implement backend services, systems, and tooling that support the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for AI applications. You’ll work on problems spanning distributed systems, orchestration, and developer experience, helping teams reliably build, test, and scale AI‑powered workflows. This is a great opportunity for an engineer who enjoys building production systems, solving complex technical problems, and working at the intersection of platform engineering and AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain services and tooling that support agent deployment, testing, and lifecycle management within the CI/CD pipeline.
• Develop systems for workflow coordination, state management, and tool integration in the context of development and operations.
• Write high-quality, maintainable code in Python to power platform capabilities and APIs.
• Deploy and operate services on Kubernetes, ensuring reliability and scalability.
• Contribute to systems for observability, logging, tracing, and debugging of distributed workflows in development and production.
• Improve system performance across latency, throughput, and fault tolerance.
• Build internal tools and APIs that improve the developer experience for teams using the platform.
• Collaborate with engineers, product managers, and AI teams to deliver production‑ready solutions and development infrastructure.
• Participate in design discussions and contribute to system architecture and technical decisions.

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of software development experience building backend systems or services.
• Strong proficiency in Python (or similar languages such as Go or Java).
• Experience designing and building distributed systems and scalable services.
• Experience running and operating services in Kubernetes‑based environments.
• Familiarity with machine learning or LLM‑powered applications and the challenges of running them in production, especially related to their deployment and operational tooling.
• Experience designing systems with a focus on reliability, scalability, observability, and maintainability.
• Strong understanding of APIs, asynchronous processing, and service‑oriented architecture.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Other Qualifications

• Ability to navigate ambiguity, make sound technical decisions, and drive projects end‑to‑end.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• Experience working on platforms, infrastructure, or developer tooling.
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration or multi‑step processing systems.
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability tools.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms and modern deployment practices (CI/CD).
• Experience building or supporting platforms, developer infrastructure, or internal tooling.
• Experience with agent‑based systems, workflow orchestration, or complex multi‑step pipelines from an infrastructure or SDLC perspective.
• Exposure to LLM‑based applications or agent‑style architectures.
• Familiarity with LLM application patterns, such as: Tool integration, Retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), Context and memory management and/or Multi‑step workflows.
• Experience with observability stacks, tracing systems, and debugging distributed workflows.
• Familiarity with model serving, vector databases, or evaluation frameworks in the context of MLOps.
• Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to technical direction.

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.CO.Boulder

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $130,400 USD - $195,600 USD

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $123,900 USD - $222,000 USD

Additional Considerations: The application deadline for this role is the same as the posting end date stated as below: 11/13/2026

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 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.

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 will never ask candidates to apply to jobs through websites that are not Workday Careers.