Sr Software Development Engineer - Distributed Systems

About the role

The role involves architecting, building, and delivering platform capabilities and services that power Workday's Apache Iceberg zero-copy data lake solution. Key responsibilities include:

• Unlocking and unifying real-time and analytical data from Workday's core operational business applications.
• Building robust, high-performance services that expose transactional application engine data as optimized Iceberg tables.
• Ensuring strict consistency, advanced metadata management, schema evolution, and multi-cloud data accessibility for both internal analytical engines and external third-party consumers.

Requirements

Core competencies expected in this role include:

• Programming Languages: Java (Primary), Scala, or Python
• Data & Storage Engines: Apache Iceberg, Apache Spark
• Distributed Systems: Distributed Processing, Query Execution/Optimization, Storage-Compute Separation, High-Throughput Service Mesh
• Cloud Infrastructure: Multi-Cloud Managed Services: Amazon Web Services (AWS) & Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Qualifications

• 8+ years of deep experience in Software Engineering, Big Data Platform Architecture, Distributed Systems, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of production-level experience designing and implementing highly concurrent software using Java.
• Proven expertise with large-scale data processing frameworks like Apache Spark or Trino, and modern open table formats such as Apache Iceberg and Parquet.
• Strong working knowledge of deploying, tuning, and maintaining data services within cloud-managed ecosystems across AWS and GCP.

Other Qualifications

• Deep foundational understanding of database technologies, transaction processing (ACID properties), query execution plans, and file formats.
• Exposure to operating system concepts including memory and storage management, threading, concurrency control, and networking.
• Proficient in designing and maintaining sophisticated object-oriented software following clean code principles and API design.
• Experience with production resiliency, monitoring, and debugging massive data platform infrastructure (e.g., Grafana, Prometheus, Kibana).

Pay

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.

Schedule

We combine in-person time and remote work. Candidates will spend at least half (50%) of their time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role).

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits include:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Comprehensive health and wellness programs
• Retirement savings plans
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee resource groups

Equal Opportunity Employer

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. We are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills.