Your work days are brighter here.
At Workday, it all began with a conversation over breakfast. When our founders met at a sunny California diner, they came up with an idea to revolutionize the enterprise software market. And when we began to rise, one thing that really set us apart was our culture. A culture which was driven by our value of putting our people first. And ever since, the happiness, development, and contribution of every Workmate is central to who we are. Our Workmates believe a healthy employee-centric, collaborative culture is the essential mix of ingredients for success in business. That’s why we look after our people, communities and the planet while still being profitable. Feel encouraged to shine, however that manifests: you don’t need to hide who you are. You can feel the energy and the passion, it's what makes us unique. Inspired to make a brighter work day for all and transform with us to the next stage of our growth journey? Bring your brightest version of you and have a brighter work day here.
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About the Team
Workday, founded in 2005, stands as a groundbreaking force in the human capital and financial management industry, with a global presence and a diverse array of customers. Across our offices worldwide, our teams are united by a shared dedication to innovation, collaboration, and excellence!
Joining our team means embarking on a journey of opportunity to advance your career and contribute to impactful solutions that shape industries. Whether you thrive with solving sophisticated business problems, collaborating with agile teams, or championing innovation and software design, Workday offers an environment where your talents can thrive.
Our Product Development and QA organization spans across various products, serving a wide range of customers worldwide. Every project you undertake with us contributes to Workday's outstanding culture, core values, and dedication to excellence. We're proud to have received numerous awards and accolades for our products, outstanding workplace culture, and commitment to sustainability. With your talent, we continue to lead the way in cloud technology and make a difference in the lives of our customers worldwide!
About the Role
As a Senior Manager of Software Development Engineering, you will establish and lead a new, cross-functional team in Chennai, composed of Data Engineers, FinOps Data Analysts, DevOps Engineers, and QA professionals. Collaborating closely with our US-based Internal Business Planning and Data Platform teams, you’ll drive critical financial accountability and cost governance efforts as Workday expands into the Public Cloud. Through our FinOps initiative, Project OPUS (Optimize Platform Usage and Spend), you’ll enable data-driven decision-making that balances agility, cost, and value for our cloud operations. You will also serve as Chennai’s local FinOps manager, ensuring alignment with Workday’s broader objectives and fostering a culture of continuous improvement in the Cost Governance space.
In this role, you will:
Build and mentor a diverse, high-performing engineering team.
Partner with global teams to deliver impactful data solutions and cost optimization strategies.
Facilitate open-source contributions and guide best practices around community engagement.
Advance DevOps, CI/CD, and data engineering methodologies within the team.
Communicate complex technical information clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
About You
We’re looking for a leader who combines a passion for innovative technology with a drive to grow and empower others.
Basic Qualifications:
5+ years of experience managing engineering teams, with a proven ability to recruit and retain top talent.
5+ years as a Software Engineer or hands-on technical contributor.
2+ years of experience working with AWS/GCP public cloud services.
2+ years of experience contributing to or managing open-source projects.
Ability to overlap at least two working hours with California teams each day.
Direct experience managing Software Developers, DevOps, and QA professionals.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
Preferred Qualifications:
Familiarity with GitOps, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and CI/CD.
Experience with modern data frameworks such as dbt, Airflow, Spark, and data modeling or warehouse platforms.
Exposure to observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog) and SQL query engines (Trino/Presto, Delta Lake, or Hive).
Practical knowledge of FinOps principles or previous experience optimizing cloud usage and spend.
Our Approach to Flexible Work
With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.
Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Workday about our Employee Referral process!
