Sr Manager, Software Development Engineering - Agentic & Semantic System

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

Being part of the Data Cloud organization at Workday, the team is building on the semantic platform to enable agentic access to Workday Data Cloud. The mission of the team is to accelerate agent development and provide a friction-less experience for agents to interact with federated data sources.

About the Role

In this pivotal role, you will spearhead the engineering efforts to bootstrap a unified platform that enables internal and external agents to interact seamlessly with the Workday Data Cloud through a robust semantic layer and MCP server framework. As a hands-on leader, you will be responsible for building and coaching a high-performing team of engineers, building and executing the product roadmap, and ensuring the delivery of mission-critical capabilities that meet rigorous functional and quality requirements on schedule. The ideal candidate thrives in high-growth environments, demonstrating the ability to move fast through ambiguity while fostering a culture of innovation to accelerate agent development and deliver frictionless data discovery and processing experiences.

About You

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years experience leading and developing software development engineering teams, including 2+ years managing other development managers.

• 10+ years experience in software development engineering, defining, implementing, and evolving development processes, tools, and strategies for high-quality software delivery.

• Expert in at least one of the following areas:

• 5+ years hands on experience delivering Machine Learning systems from experimentation, implementation, validation and monitoring.

  • Machine Learning or Data Science, familiar with Agent frameworks and design patterns.

  • MCP protocol and server technologies

• 5+ years hands on experience delivering Semantic engine or BI, familiar with Semantic Modeling, Knowledge Representations, and BI frameworks.

Other Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline; Master's degree preferred or equivalent practical experience.

• Understanding of development lifecycles for projects utilizing programming languages and frameworks like Scala, Python, PyTorch, LangChain, etc.

• Strong understanding of Decision Making processes in managing complex engineering teams and strategic initiatives.

• Developing strong Influencing Skills to drive technical direction and organizational alignment.

• Solid understanding of People Management principles for leading large software development organizations and fostering a high-performance culture.

• Strong Understanding of Requirements and the ability to ensure alignment and execution across multiple teams.

To be successful in this role, the candidate should also have the following skills:

• Visionary Leadership: Execute on an ambitious roadmap.

• Strategic Delivery: Manage complex engineering projects from conception to launch, ensuring all deliverables meet the highest standards of quality and reliability. Deliver on time with well thought of tradeoffs.

• Team Growth: Lead and mentor an initial team with plans to actively recruit and bolster engineering capacity to support the next wave of platform innovation.

• Innovation Under Ambiguity: Support the team in navigating the evolving landscape of Agentic AI, fostering an environment where engineers can rapidly prototype, debug, ship and iterate on solutions.

• Collaborative Impact: Work closely with cross-functional partners to establish "Data and Semantic Platform" as the critical system for developing agents.

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: CAN.BC.Vancouver

Primary CAN Base Pay Range: $176,000 - $264,000 CAD

Additional CAN Location(s) Base Pay Range: $176,000 - $264,000 CAD

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.

At Workday, we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills. If you require assistance or an accommodation at any point, please email [email protected].

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