Sr. Software Development Engineer

Workday; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 176,000 - 264,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday is seeking a Sr. Software Development Engineer for its Intelligent Experience Platform (IXP) team in Pleasanton, CA.

You will build, scale, and operate Workday's enterprise messaging and email services, including SMS, WhatsApp, push, and email, designed for high volume and enterprise-grade deliverability. You will work with senior leaders to shape architecture, write robust microservices, and ensure security and performance while mentoring junior engineers.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.
• 5+ years in modern programming languages (Java, Kotlin, Go, or C++), API development, automated testing, and CI/CD.
• 5+ years designing and building scalable distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain components of Workday's enterprise messaging and email platform.
• Develop and scale core multi-channel messaging services and deliverability infrastructure.
• Collaborate with product, design, security, and engineering teams to deliver high-quality features.
• Ensure code quality, security, performance, resilience, and testability of services.
• Evaluate third-party messaging providers, build prototypes, and optimize throughput/deliverability.
• Contribute to engineering practices, participate in code/design reviews, and mentor juniors.

Skills

Distributed systems

Java / Kotlin / Go / C++

REST / gRPC APIs

CI/CD pipelines

Mentorship

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 Intelligent Experience Platform (IXP) team builds technology that powers a unified, intelligent, and seamless user experience across the Workday ecosystem. As part of Core Services within Workday's Platform organization, IXP delivers the foundational layers that every Workday application and agent is built on and every user interacts with. Through data-driven insights, cutting-edge technology, and strong cross-functional collaboration, the team multiplies the impact of every application team by delivering scalable, user-centric solutions and a cohesive, agent-ready foundation essential to Workday's next era of innovation. We are passionate about bringing industry-leading solutions to life while putting our people first—embracing new challenges with courage, and staying committed to delivering exceptional value for our customers.

About the Role

As a Sr. Software Development Engineer on the IXP team, you will contribute to building, scaling, and maintaining Workday's messaging platform and services spanning SMS, WhatsApp, Push notifications, and Email. In this role, you will work closely with senior technical leaders to deliver robust, high-volume email delivery capabilities at enterprise scale across Workday's core messaging and email infrastructure. You will design, develop, and operate high-performing, resilient, and secure microservices. Your contributions will directly impact how millions of users receive critical, timely communications from the Workday platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain critical components of Workday's enterprise messaging and email platform in alignment with broader platform standards and architecture goals.
• Develop and scale core multi-channel messaging services, templates, and deliverability infrastructure, adhering to established design patterns and best practices.
• Collaborate effectively across Product Management, Design, Security, and engineering team members to deliver high-quality email capabilities.
• Ensure code quality, security, performance, resilience, and testability across all owned platform services.
• Participate in technology evaluations and third-party messaging and email provider integrations, build prototypes, and implement optimized solutions for email throughput and deliverability.
• Help shape team engineering practices, participate in code and design reviews, and mentor junior engineers on the team.

About You Basic Qualifications

• 8+ years of related software engineering experience, with deep expertise in building and operating high-scale distributed systems and platform services.
• 5+ years in modern programming languages (e.g., Java, Kotlin, Go, or C++), object-oriented design, REST/gRPC API development, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
• 5+ year experience designing and building scalable distributed systems, including event-driven microservices or messaging platforms, following architectural best practices.

Other Qualifications

• Technical Execution and Strategy: Ability to execute on feature roadmaps and shape the technical direction of messaging services in alignment with platform team goals.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Track record of effective collaboration with product, design, and cross-functional engineering teams to deliver high-quality software features.
• Engineering Excellence: Commitment to writing clean, maintainable code with high standards for testing, performance, security, and operational reliability.
• Pragmatic Problem Solving: Strong analytical skills with a customer-centric focus, capable of building prototypes and evaluating trade-offs to balance feature velocity with platform quality.
• Teamwork and Mentorship: Experience contributing to code reviews, sharing knowledge, and helping onboard or mentor junior team members.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain technical details clearly to peers and collaborators.

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.CA.Pleasanton
• Primary Location Base Pay Range: $176,000 USD - $264,000 USD
• Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $148,200 USD - $264,000 USD

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