US Federal Functional Architect, Talent & Recruiting

Workday•Pleasanton, CA

12d•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 We are looking for a motivated problem-solver and passionate collaborator to fill the role of Functional Architect on the US Federal Product Management team. This individual is someone that is passionate about solving cross-product business problems, discovering how to use and improve Workday technology, and working in partnership with our technical team. 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). The functional architect supports the product team and our business in many critical areas, focused especially on functionality related to Talent, Learning, and Recruiting for US Federal Industry. To be successful in this role, you will: Serve as the representative for cross-team initiatives taking place outside of your functional domain, providing connections, expertise and direction to teams. Partner with other functional architects on strategic product initiatives. Promote consistency in how the team designs and builds new functionality. Develop a broad understanding of critical projects and initiatives in your functional area for the upcoming release, review proposed feature specifications, and provide guidance on architecture decisions. Review product opportunities and solution designs to provide recommendations on how to progress the investment. Identify touchpoints across product areas and features, enabling greater alignment, collaboration and scale. Ensure the scalability of designs, allowing for iterative solutions that meet both short and long term customer needs. Assist in scoping and sizing discussions with a focus on cross-team impacts, strategic customer requirements, and critical deployments. Work with Inbound and Outbound PM’s to analyze US federal industry requirements, customer feedback, and usage data to make recommendations on design and prioritization. Build and demonstrate an understanding of products and new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to educate and guide the team on strategic implementation. Mentor and coach other Product Managers.

Requirements

8+ years experience designing, building, and implementing enterprise cloud applications (or equivalent).
Subject matter expertise for one or more Workday product areas.
3+ years of experience with Workday architecture, including Business Process Framework, Security, UI, Reporting, and Web Services.
Consistent track record of defining business problems, researching user needs, prototyping and testing new solutions, collaborating with design and engineering teams, and participating in the Agile process.
An inherently collaborative style that enables you to win the hearts and minds of your peers to successfully complete a complex product roadmap, with execution often happening across teams.
Proven ability to be a visionary Customer Advocate, deeply understanding and anticipating customer needs in product strategy and decisions, and driving a customer-obsessed culture throughout the organization.
Deep mastery of Customer Empathy, proactively identifying fundamental customer pain points and translating them into transformative product strategies and innovative user experiences.
Mastery in Decision Making in complex and strategic product-related matters, balancing user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility with a long-term, holistic perspective, and effectively communicating those decisions with clear strategic rationale and considering broad organizational impact
Excellent organizational, collaboration and communication skills; you are comfortable connecting with and delivering content to both developer and business executive audiences.
Strong analytical skills, able to explore and research ambiguous problem spaces, leveraging data to build actionable, meaningful units of work.
You know when to get hands-on, crafting and building when appropriate.
You’re self-directed and proactively identify needs and where you can make valuable contributions.
Exceptional ability to exert significant Business Influence across the organization and with external partners, driving strategic alignment and securing buy-in for major product initiatives.

Responsibilities

Serve as the representative for cross-team initiatives taking place outside of your functional domain, providing connections, expertise and direction to teams.
Partner with other functional architects on strategic product initiatives.
Promote consistency in how the team designs and builds new functionality.
Develop a broad understanding of critical projects and initiatives in your functional area for the upcoming release, review proposed feature specifications, and provide guidance on architecture decisions.
Review product opportunities and solution designs to provide recommendations on how to progress the investment.
Identify touchpoints across product areas and features, enabling greater alignment, collaboration and scale.
Ensure the scalability of designs, allowing for iterative solutions that meet both short and long term customer needs.
Assist in scoping and sizing discussions with a focus on cross-team impacts, strategic customer requirements, and critical deployments.
Work with Inbound and Outbound PM’s to analyze US federal industry requirements, customer feedback, and usage data to make recommendations on design and prioritization.
Build and demonstrate an understanding of products and new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to educate and guide the team on strategic implementation.
Mentor and coach other Product Managers.