Senior Product Owner – Total Rewards (Workday)

EchoStar•Centennial, CO

About The Position

As a Sr. Product Owner – Total Rewards within the HR organization, you will serve as a critical functional lead responsible for the strategic configuration, operational excellence, and continuous improvement of Workday Total Rewards modules (Compensation, Advanced Compensation, and Benefits). This role bridges the gap between complex total rewards policies and technical execution, leading the lifecycle of Workday enhancements, annual cycles (e.g., open enrollment, merit planning), and system integrations. Additionally, you will drive the integration of AI-enabled solutions and automation best practices to streamline total rewards processes and enhance decision-making.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Business Administration, Human Resources, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 5+ years of experience supporting, configuring, or leading Workday HCM platforms, specifically focused on Compensation, Advanced Compensation, and Benefits modules.
Hands-on experience configuring Workday eligibility rules, grade profiles, merit/bonus matrices, open enrollment events, and benefits groups.
Strong analytical and advanced problem-solving skills, with the ability to diagnose complex audit exceptions and technical data flow issues.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, capable of explaining complex Workday concepts to non-technical HR leaders.
Proven ability to work independently, handle highly sensitive compensation data with discretion, and deliver under tight deadlines during annual rewards cycles.
Practical experience managing user stories, acceptance criteria, and sprint prioritization in tools like Jira or Azure DevOps.
Solid understanding of data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and compensation compliance standards (e.g., FLSA, Pay Transparency laws) as they relate to HRIS data.

Nice To Haves

2+ years of experience in a Product Owner or Systems Analyst role within an HR Agile/Scrum delivery model.
Certified Workday Pro in Compensation or Benefits.

Responsibilities

Own, refine, and prioritize the product backlog for Workday Compensation and Benefits feature sets, driving execution within an Agile delivery model.
Translate complex Total Rewards policies, executive compensation plans, and benefits programs into user stories, functional design specs, and Workday business process configurations.
Partner closely with Total Rewards leadership, Payroll, HR Operations, and HR Business Partners to gather requirements, manage scope expectations, and roll out feature updates.
Maintain deep functional ownership of Workday Compensation, Advanced Compensation, and Benefits modules, including plan setups, eligibility rules, business processes, and outbound integration specs.
Lead End-to-End and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) for annual cycles, patch releases, and system upgrades based on clear "Pass/Fail" criteria to ensure zero-defect rollouts.
Coordinate with benefits administration partners, insurance carriers, and third-party implementation consultants on API integrations, file feeds, and issue resolution.
Track product adoption, system utilization, and data accuracy metrics to optimize business processes and measure ROI on Workday investments.