Sr. Software Development Engineer Distributed Systems ( Java Scala)
Job Location:
Atlanta, GA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Posted on:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Your work days are brighter here.
Were 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 were shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join youll 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. Were 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 youre building smarter solutions supporting customers or creating a space where everyone belongs youll do meaningful work with Workmates whove got your return well 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 youve found a match in Workday and we hope to be a match for you too.
About the Team
At Workday we love to have fun! From quirky sprint names to adventurous team outings our team knows the importance of having fun as a team together. Inclusivity and diversity is important for the team everyone on the team takes training on Workdays VIBE (Value Inclusion Belonging Equity) program.What is the Developer Platform App life cycle at Workday
Developer Platform App life cycle is the core of Workdays Developer Platform providing the infrastructure to manage the full lifecycle of applications. This platform governs the promotion deployment installation version management and compiler orchestration of Extend apps. Built on AWS our services are designed with core components focused on scalability resilience and robustness.
About the Role
As a Senior Software Engineer you will play a key role in designing and scaling Workdays Dev core services platform. We are looking for a product-minded engineer with a startup mentalitysomeone who can wear multiple hats thrive in ambiguous environments and act as an owner to drive core platform initiatives from conception to completion. You will lead the architecture of critical distributed subsystems drive technical execution within the team and collaborate closely with cross-functional partners to deliver robust solutions.
This role requires deep hands-on expertise in distributed systems and microservices along with a proven track record of translating complex product requirements into scalable code. You are not just building software to a specification; you possess a deep curiosity about how your components integrate into the broader business ecosystem a relentless focus on customer adoption and mastery of AI-driven engineering tools to drastically reduce delivery cycles. You will tackle sophisticated technical challenges champion engineering best practices and help mentor team members to ensure high-velocity reliable delivery.
What Youll Do
Design build and evolve secure scalable microservices and intuitive frontend experiences that power mission-critical product features with strong performance and reliability.
Own major platform initiatives end-to-end translating ambiguous technical and product concepts into clean functional software with clear accountability.
Champion best practices in domain-driven design API contract management testing observability and architectural modernization to reduce technical debt and elevate code quality.
Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools and autonomous coding agents (e.g. Cursor Claude Code) as an expert power-user to accelerate delivery and raise baseline quality.
Lead and unblock a small high-velocity team (13 developers) providing technical guidance mentorship and constructive code reviews to foster a culture of continuous learning.
About You
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science Engineering or equivalent practical experience.
8 years of software engineering experience with a strong focus on backend microservice architectures and distributed systems; 5 years in Java or Scala.
2 years of full-stack experience building modern frontend UIs with JavaScript frameworks (e.g. React Angular or Vue).
5 years of experience building operating and optimizing products in cloud environments (AWS preferred/GCP/Azure) including expertise with cloud development tools (e.g. S3 Lambda EC2 CloudFront SQS SNS DynamoDB and MySQL) and Kubernetes.
5 years with containerization and orchestration technologies specifically Docker and Kubernetes.
1 year working with modern architectural standards including Model Context Protocol (MCP) for spec-driven development.
1 year of expert-level AI-augmented development (e.g. Cursor Claude Code GitHub Copilot) with a demonstrated ability to direct prompt audit and validate agentic-generated code.
Other Qualifications
Previous experience as a technical founder or early-stage engineer at a startup (<50 headcount) is highly preferred.
Deep backend proficiency in Java or Kotlin with strong command of design patterns distributed systems and high-availability architecture.
Expert API development and contract management skills including familiarity with modern protocols (e.g. MCP) to support a spec-driven development approach.
Strong full-stack competency with modern frontend frameworks (React/TypeScript) algorithmic thinking and a track record of translating complex requirements into scalable code.
Service ownership mindset: end-to-end accountability for operational health test automation CI/CD pipelines and cloud-native observability.
Hands-on experience integrating AI capabilities into software products and using AI-augmented workflows to accelerate delivery.
Proven ability to lead cloud infrastructure cost optimization initiatives across large-scale AWS/GCP deployments balancing performance with financial scalability.
Strong collaborator and communicator able to partner with PMs designers and engineers to break down features into sprint tasks and clearly articulate technical tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Experience with Developer Platforms DevTools or core engineering platforms is a plus.
Workday Pay Transparency Statement
The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidates compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including but not limited to geography experience skills job duties and business need among other things. For more information regarding Workdays comprehensive benefits please click here.
Primary Location: Primary Location Base Pay Range: $168500 USD - $252700 USDAdditional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $160100 USD - $285100 USD
Our Approach to Flexible Work
With Flex Work were 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 youll 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.
Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
At Workday we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills. If you require assistance or an accommodation at any point please email .
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Required Experience:
Senior IC
About Company
Seamlessly manage your people, money, and agents on an open, unified platform with AI at the core. It’s a new work day.
