Staff Workday Engineer, People Systems & AI Automation

BetterUp•Austin, TX

23h•$151,000 - $189,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a Staff/Lead Workday Engineer to join our People team as the technical authority for Workday and the broader HR systems ecosystem. This role spans the full stack — from integration architecture down to day-to-day configuration and support — and is our primary driver for AI enablement across Workday and the tools connected to it. You’ll operate with wide latitude and independent judgment on complex, ambiguous problems, partnering closely with Total Rewards, Talent, HR Ops, and IT leadership to keep our systems reliable and compliant today, while identifying and mobilizing the automation and AI opportunities that will define how the broader HR team works tomorrow. This role reports to the VP of Total Rewards and HR Operations. We are a hybrid company with a focus on in-person collaboration when necessary. Employees are expected to be available to work from one of our office hubs at least two days per week, or eight days per month. Our US hub locations include: Austin, TX; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; and the Arlington, VA metro area. Please ensure you can realistically commit to this structure before applying.

Requirements

12 years of experience in HR systems, with deep, hands-on Workday expertise spanning both integrations and day-to-day configuration/support (not just one or the other)
Track record of leading complex Workday work independently — full-cycle implementations, major system transformations, or integration architecture — with minimal oversight and accountability for the outcome
Strong knowledge of Workday integration design (EIB, REST/SOAP APIs) and experience connecting Workday to third-party tools
Working knowledge of Workday's AI capabilities (Workday Assistant, Illuminate, Extend, Orchestrate, AI Gateway APIs) — or demonstrated ability to master new Workday capabilities quickly and turn them into adopted practice
Experience owning access management, security roles, and data integrations across a modern HR tech stack (tools like Ashby, Pave, Shareworks, Athena, HC 365 a plus)
Working knowledge of SOX ITGC and compliant system practices in a public or audit-ready environment
History of originating and systematizing automation/AI opportunities that scale beyond your own queue of tickets — not just executing requests, but identifying what's worth building before you're asked
Experience operating with wide latitude and independent judgment on ambiguous, high-complexity problems, and being sought out by others (including senior/VP-level leaders) as the trusted authority on system decisions
Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with VP-level stakeholders and use them to move cross-functional work forward, plus comfort acting as a mentor or informal technical lead to other practitioners
Strong communication skills — able to translate technical tradeoffs for non-technical and senior stakeholders alike

Nice To Haves

Tools like Ashby, Pave, Shareworks, Athena, HC 365 a plus

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary technical owner for Workday — configuration, troubleshooting, security roles, business process framework, and day-to-day support across HCM, Compensation, Benefits, and related modules
Own access controls, role-based permissions, and audit logging to ensure security and compliance
Manage Workday releases, including impact analysis, testing, and rollout of new features
Design, build, and maintain integrations across Workday and connected systems (e.g., Ashby, Pave, Shareworks, Athena, HC 365), using EIB and API-based integration patterns
Manage end-to-end lifecycle transactions and data flows across the HR tech stack
Partner with IT and HR Ops to troubleshoot issues and architect scalable system enhancements
Define and own the AI roadmap within Workday — evaluating and implementing capabilities such as Workday Assistant, Illuminate, Extend, and Orchestrate as they become relevant to our stack
Identify and systematize automation and AI opportunities with impact beyond a single team, and secure buy-in from HR and IT leadership to prioritize and resource them
Stay ahead of Workday's AI and automation roadmap, anticipating what's worth piloting before it becomes an obvious ask
Bring curiosity to the broader HR tech stack and processes — proactively surface where automation or AI augmentation opportunities across HR tech stack that could benefit the wider HR team, not just Workday itself, and act as the go-to resource others come to for this thinking
Own the approach to SOX ITGC controls for People systems, building controls that enable compliance without adding unnecessary friction
Maintain clear, audit-ready documentation of system configuration, workflows, and change management processes; set the standard others on the team follow
Serve as the technical expert Total Rewards, HRBPs, Talent, HR Ops, and IT leadership come to for complex or ambiguous systems decisions
Translate business needs from senior stakeholders into scalable, well-documented system solutions, and clearly communicate tradeoffs and recommendations
Mentor other HR systems practitioners and elevate how the broader team approaches configuration, integration, and automation work