Senior Principal Technical Program Manager, US Federal

About the role

This role will support one or more direct or indirect contracts with the U.S. Federal Government which, due to federal government security requirements, mandates that all Workday personnel working on the contracts be United States citizens (naturalized or native).

You will lead projects and programs spanning infrastructure and software that ensure our systems scale to meet diverse customer requirements in this dynamic and rapid-growth landscape.

• Leverage deep expertise in AWS infrastructure and enterprise networking to understand complex problems broadly and dive deep into system inter-dependencies.
• Drive process and technology improvements that reduce friction for engineers and continuously improve the platform's operational excellence.
• Work across business, product, and engineering teams and balance cost, schedule, and technical variables to create tools and/or processes that help our customers realize better company outcomes.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Drive the rigorous execution, alignment, and delivery of large-scale programs across complex federal landscapes.
• Bridge mission requirements and technical architecture, partnering directly with engineering leaders to design secure, highly available, and scalable AWS cloud solutions.
• Leverage deep expertise in AWS infrastructure and enterprise networking to dive deep into system inter-dependencies, authoring high-fidelity technical white papers and architectural diagrams to guide complex design decisions.
• Accelerate organizational velocity by leading remote delivery teams and eliminating operational barriers through advanced technical whiteboard sessions.
• Lead classified technical briefings and drive stakeholder alignment within SCIF environments.
• Operate at the highest levels of national security, leading complex, cross-functional programs involving engineering, platform, infrastructure, security, operations, compliance, procurement, and executive stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications

• This role may require a security clearance at the TS/SCI w/CI Poly level. Applicants must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, Business, or equivalent professional experience.
• 10+ years of experience in technical program management, program delivery, cloud-native program execution, infrastructure programs, cybersecurity programs, software delivery, systems delivery, or a similar technical leadership role.
• 10+ years of experience supporting or directing technical delivery lifecycles from planning through execution, deployment, operational transition, and continuous improvement.
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional programs involving engineering, platform, infrastructure, security, operations, compliance, procurement, and executive stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of cloud computing concepts, cloud-native architecture, software delivery lifecycles, enterprise architecture, infrastructure dependencies, cybersecurity considerations, and operational readiness.
• Working knowledge of Kubernetes, containerized workloads, platform engineering, cloud-native modernization, identity and access management, networking, monitoring, resiliency, and security concepts.
• Experience developing and maintaining program roadmaps, integrated schedules, milestone plans, Gantt charts, dependency maps, RAID logs, executive dashboards, and leadership reporting.
• Ability to translate technical complexity into clear executive updates, decision briefs, customer communications, and delivery plans.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across senior leaders, technical teams, federal customers, vendors, and delivery partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, Business Administration, or equivalent professional experience.
• Active TS/SCI with CI Polygraph.
• Experience leading technical programs in federal, defense, intelligence, national security, or highly regulated enterprise environments.
• Experience supporting Kubernetes platforms, containerized workload migration, cloud-native modernization, hybrid cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity, DevSecOps, or platform engineering programs.
• Strong understanding of federal security and compliance frameworks, including FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-53, RMF, ATO, DoD SRG, CUI, Zero Trust, and classified environment requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, technical teams, and federal mission stakeholders.
• Experience facilitating technical architecture reviews, roadmap discussions, risk reviews, executive briefings, dependency reviews, release readiness reviews, and program governance forums.
• Experience authoring executive white papers, technical summaries, decision briefs, program narratives, trade-off analyses, and stakeholder communications.
• Experience operating in or supporting SCIF environments, classified briefings, secure delivery teams, or mission-sensitive federal programs.
• Strong ability to drive execution across highly matrixed organizations with distributed teams, competing priorities, and strict security or compliance constraints.
• Familiarity with Kubernetes and cloud-native concepts, including clusters, namespaces, pods, deployments, services, ingress, service mesh, Helm, GitOps, container registries, CI/CD pipelines, secrets management, observability, container security, vulnerability scanning, and infrastructure as code.
• Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, SAFe, DevSecOps, CI/CD, infrastructure automation, ITIL, cloud operating models, platform operating models, and portfolio governance practices.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to bridge technical architecture, program execution, customer priorities, and executive decision-making.