Software Development Engineer - AI Core (Python)

Workday•Vancouver, BC

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

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 Do you want to build AI-powered software that impacts millions of people every day? The AI Core team, part of Workday’s AI Platform organization, tackles challenging problems at the intersection of machine learning, agentic reasoning, and enterprise-scale systems. Our work delivers critical AI platform capabilities and differentiated, deep-value agent applications. About the Role As a Software Development Engineer on the AI Core team, you will be primarily responsible for designing, building, and operating the software systems that host, run, and scale AI-powered applications at Workday. Specifically, you will: Work closely with machine learning engineers to write and maintain production-grade backend services that power AI-driven capabilities and agent applications Design and implement APIs and service integrations that enable AI capabilities to be consumed across Workday products and platforms Build and operate data ingestion and ETL pipelines that support AI application workflows Apply distributed systems principles in production to address scalability, concurrency, fault tolerance, and performance challenges Ensure systems meet enterprise requirements for security, privacy, robustness, and compliance Own services through their full lifecycle, including deployment, monitoring, debugging, and ongoing operational improvements

Requirements

5+ years of professional software development experience
2+ years of experience with Python development
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience
Understanding of object-oriented design principles and ability to apply them in a Python context
Proficiency with advanced Python concepts, such as asynchronous and concurrent programming, generators, and higher-order abstractions
Ability to write clean, testable, and well-structured code, with high standards for clarity, aesthetics, and long-term maintainability
Deep systems knowledge, including comfort operating in and debugging Unix/Linux environments, fluency with command-line tooling, and understanding of practical networking fundamentals
Understanding of distributed systems concepts, including concurrency, fault tolerance, and performance tradeoffs
Ability to design and build well-defined, stable APIs and service interfaces for consumption by other teams and systems
Ability to build ETL pipelines that efficiently process large amounts of data using tools like PySpark
Proficiency with cloud and container platforms, including containerized workloads and orchestration systems (e.g., AWS or GCP, Docker, Kubernetes)
Ability to collaborate effectively across teams, working closely with other engineers while maintaining independent execution
Ownership mindset, able to take responsibility for a work area and deliver high-quality, reliable systems
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Nice To Haves

Ability to mentor and coach other engineers, promoting best practices and raising the engineering bar
Architectural thinking skills, with the ability to contribute meaningful ideas and practical solutions in design and architecture discussions

Responsibilities

Work closely with machine learning engineers to write and maintain production-grade backend services that power AI-driven capabilities and agent applications
Design and implement APIs and service integrations that enable AI capabilities to be consumed across Workday products and platforms
Build and operate data ingestion and ETL pipelines that support AI application workflows
Apply distributed systems principles in production to address scalability, concurrency, fault tolerance, and performance challenges
Ensure systems meet enterprise requirements for security, privacy, robustness, and compliance
Own services through their full lifecycle, including deployment, monitoring, debugging, and ongoing operational improvements