Senior Principal Technical Program Manager, US Federal

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

Your work matters here. At Workday Government, we focus on outcomes that serve a larger mission. Our work supports U.S. federal agencies as they modernize and transform the full employee lifecycle experience and finance operations—so they can operate with greater clarity, accountability, and trust. As a Fortune 500 company and a proven enterprise cloud platform, Workday brings modern technology, responsible AI, and secure infrastructure to some of the most complex environments in the world. The work isn’t theoretical. It’s operational. It’s high-impact. And it demands rigor, integrity, and long-term thinking.

From day one, you’ll be part of a team that values collaboration, follow-through, and doing the right thing—especially when the stakes are high. Our culture is grounded in integrity, respect, and shared responsibility. We challenge each other to think clearly, act thoughtfully, and build solutions that stand up to real-world demands. Here, curiosity is matched with accountability. Ambition is paired with trust. You’ll have the space to do your best work, the support to keep growing, and the backing of a company committed to long-term investment in both its people and the federal mission.

If you’re looking to apply your experience to meaningful, mission-driven work—alongside colleagues who take pride in building things that last—you’ll find that opportunity at Workday

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).

As a TPM on the IPE team 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. You will need to possess the skills to understand complex problems broadly and have the ability to dive deep. You will find, build, and analyze data about every aspect of the platform, services running on it, tooling used to operate it and monitor it. You will drive process and technology improvements that reduce friction for engineers and continuously improve the platform's operational excellence. You will 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

As the principal Technical Program Manager for business-critical initiatives, you will drive the rigorous execution, alignment, and delivery of large-scale programs across complex federal landscapes. You will seamlessly bridge mission requirements and technical architecture, partnering directly with engineering leaders to design secure, highly available, and scalable AWS cloud solutions. Leveraging deep expertise in AWS infrastructure and enterprise networking, you will dive deep into system inter-dependencies, authoring high-fidelity technical white papers and architectural diagrams to guide complex design decisions.  

You will accelerate organizational velocity by leading remote delivery teams and eliminating operational barriers through advanced technical whiteboard sessions. Operating at the highest levels of national security, you will lead classified technical briefings and drive stakeholder alignment within SCIF environments. You are accountable for end-to-end program lifecycles, utilizing advanced project artifacts—including precise Gantt charts and multi-tiered dependency tracking—to translate strategic planning into measurable business outcomes and operational excellence.   

This role requires technical program fluency, not hands-on engineering execution. The ideal candidate should understand modern cloud-native concepts well enough to lead informed discussions, manage risks, communicate trade-offs, and drive decisions across technical and non-technical audiences.

Relevant knowledge areas include:

• Kubernetes platform concepts and container orchestration lifecycle
• Containerized workload migration and modernization planning
• Microservices architecture and distributed system dependencies
• Hybrid cloud, private cloud, and enterprise infrastructure delivery models
• Platform engineering, shared services, and internal developer platforms
• Kubernetes clusters, namespaces, nodes, pods, deployments, services, ingress, storage, and configuration concepts
• Container image management, vulnerability scanning, runtime security, and secure deployment practices
• Identity, access control, role-based access, secrets management, and least-privilege principles
• Enterprise networking concepts, including routing, segmentation, DNS, load balancing, ingress, egress, VPN, and hybrid connectivity
• Observability concepts, including logging, monitoring, metrics, tracing, alerting, dashboards, and incident response
• High availability, resiliency, backup, disaster recovery, failover, and continuity planning
• DevSecOps, CI/CD, release governance, automation, infrastructure as code, and environment promotion
• Cloud cost management, capacity planning, resource optimization, and operational readiness
• Federal security and compliance concepts, including FedRAMP, FISMA, NIST 800-53, RMF, ATO, Zero Trust, CUI, and classified environment considerations

The TPM does not need to personally configure Kubernetes clusters or deploy applications, but should understand how technologies such as Kubernetes, containers, Docker, Helm, GitOps, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, service mesh, ingress controllers, container registries, secrets management, monitoring platforms, logging tools, and vulnerability scanning fit into broader program planning, architecture reviews, delivery execution, risk management, and operational readiness.

About You

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. An active TS/SCI w/CI Poly is preferred.   May be required to be on site at client locations in the DC, MD, and VA (DMV) area.   

• 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.
• Ability to understand architecture diagrams, migration plans, system interdependencies, security control impacts, platform risks, integration risks, and operational readiness requirements.
• 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.

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.VA.Reston

 

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $217,400 USD - $326,000 USD

 

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $196,700 USD - $349,400 USD

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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