Principal Product Manager, Spend Management (Finance Applications)

Workday•Pleasanton, CA

2d•$167,200 - $294,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Principal Product Manager for Spend Management will be a pivotal leader, defining and driving our AI-first strategy for the Source-to-Pay ecosystem: Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Management, Accounts Payable, and Expenses. This role orchestrates Workday's Spend Management suite, custom innovations, and third-party technologies into a premier, intelligent procure-to-pay platform. By embedding intelligent automation, agentic workflows, and generative AI into requisitioning, supplier onboarding, invoice processing, and expense management, you will unlock measurable business value and create streamlined experiences for buyers, suppliers, and Finance. The Product Manager will be part of Business Technology under Product & Technology, responsible for defining the Spend product roadmap and designing digital and agentic Spend experiences leveraging AI, agentic, and core technologies.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in product management, with a significant focus on shipping enterprise-level, technology-powered products in a B2B or SaaS environment.
5+ years of ERP implementation domain expertise in Source-to-Pay processes (Procurement, Sourcing, Supplier Management, Accounts Payable, Expenses), with best practices and a vision for how AI can fundamentally transform them.
3+ years of direct experience leading and launching AI/ML-powered or automation products, with a track record of taking systems from concept to scaled production.
Managing a Spend or Finance roadmap through strategic collaboration with Business stakeholders and Product & Technology (P&T) teams.
Consistent record of successfully integrating ERP systems (preferably Workday Spend Management) with supplier networks, payment providers, tax engines, and enterprise data platforms.
Lead user stories and manage story slotting to ensure alignment with defined sprint cycles and delivery timelines.
Shown experience leading high-performing agile product teams, including offshore and vendor partners.
Outstanding problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate ambiguous business problems into concrete product requirements and technical specifications.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with proven experience communicating complex technical concepts and product strategies to senior executives.
Familiarity with the AI technology stack, including agents, foundational models (LLMs), data pipelines, and MLOps.

Nice To Haves

Workday Financials and Spend certifications (e.g., Procurement, Expenses, Supplier Accounts, FDM) are highly preferred.

Responsibilities

AI-First Product Vision, Strategy and Roadmap: Architect and champion a long-term product roadmap for the Spend Management ecosystem, centered on AI, agents, and automation across the Source-to-Pay lifecycle.
Intelligent Product Lifecycle Management: Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle for Spend initiatives, from ideation and business case development to requirements definition, delivery, and ROI measurement.
Business Partnership: Serve as the primary BT partner to Procurement, Accounts Payable, Expenses, and Finance leadership. Translate complex procure-to-pay challenges into solvable problems and articulate a clear vision that secures consensus and drives cross-functional alignment.
Customer Zero Influence & Innovation: Partner closely with Workday's Spend Management product teams to influence the future product roadmap. Proactively lead release cycles to adopt new Spend features and agents early and be a leading voice in their creation and application.
Delivery Leadership: Lead high-performing agile teams of functional architects, engineers, and vendor partners. Own user stories, story slotting, release readiness, and change management to ensure alignment with sprint cycles and delivery timelines.
Ecosystem & Vendor Strategy: Evaluate and lead a portfolio of Spend-adjacent technology partners and vendors (supplier networks, payments, tax, expense capture), ensuring the ecosystem is composed of best-in-class solutions aligned to strategic goals.
Controls & Compliance: Partner with Accounting, Tax, and Internal Audit to ensure Spend processes and automation meet SOX, policy, and audit requirements.