Senior Software Development Engineer - UI Platform (US Federal) at Workday

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Software Development Engineer - UI Platform (US Federal)

Company: Workday

Location: Boulder, Colorado, United States

Job Type: Hybrid

Category: Software Engineering

Date Posted: 2025-06-05

Experience Level: 7+ years

Remote Status: Hybrid (2 days on-site)

🎨 Role Summary

Build and maintain scalable services and frameworks that power the UI experience at Workday
Collaborate with other teams to define standards, guide architectural choices, and improve service health
Work alongside other platform teams to improve reliability and service health
Contribute expertise on building resilient, high-performing systems

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a mix of hands-on development, technical leadership, and cross-team collaboration, with a focus on improving developer experience and reducing toil.

🖼️ Primary Responsibilities

Design and develop scalable backend services and frameworks used by other engineers
Monitor and maintain service health and observability
Participate in incident response and drive service improvements
Collaborate with other teams to define standards and architectural choices
Contribute to the development of internal developer tools

📝 Enhancement Note: This role involves working with a wide range of teams and requires strong communication skills and the ability to drive consensus on architectural decisions.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

Experience: 7+ years of experience building and maintaining software systems in a production environment

Required Skills:

7+ years of experience with Java, Python, or Typescript
Experience designing scalable backend services or frameworks used by other engineers
Hands-on experience with service monitoring, observability tools, and incident response
Experience with distributed systems and microservice architecture

Preferred Skills:

Experience working in a platform team or building internal developer tools
Familiarity with frontend architecture and how UI and backend services intersect
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools like Jenkins, Docker, or Kubernetes
A passion for improving developer experience and reducing toil

📝 Enhancement Note: While not required, experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) would be beneficial for this role.

🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

Demonstrate experience with backend service design and development
Showcase projects that highlight your ability to work with distributed systems and microservice architecture
Include examples of your involvement in incident response and service improvement

Process Documentation:

Explain your approach to designing scalable services and frameworks
Describe your experience with service monitoring and observability tools
Detail your involvement in incident response and how you've driven service improvements

📝 Enhancement Note: While a portfolio is not explicitly required for this role, providing examples of your work can help demonstrate your skills and experience.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $153,600 - $230,400 USD (based on location)

Benefits:

Workday Bonus Plan
Annual refresh stock grants
Comprehensive benefits package (medical, dental, vision, etc.)
401(k) matching
Flexible work arrangements

Working Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week)

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary range provided is based on the primary location of Boulder, Colorado. Salary ranges for additional US locations are $145,900 - $259,200 USD.

🎯Team & Company Context

🏢 Company & Design Culture

Industry: Software Development

Company Size: 10,001+ employees

Founded: 2005

Team Structure:

The UI Platform team is part of the broader Engineering organization at Workday
The team consists of software engineers, technical leads, and engineering managers
The team works closely with other platform teams and product development teams

Methodology:

Agile development methodologies
Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines
Infrastructure as code (IaC) and version control with Git

Company Website: http://www.workday.com

📝 Enhancement Note: Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Design Career Level: Senior Software Development Engineer

Reporting Structure: Reports directly to the Engineering Manager of the UI Platform team

Design Impact: The UI Platform team's work directly impacts the user experience of Workday's products, affecting millions of users worldwide

Growth Opportunities:

Technical leadership roles within the UI Platform team or other platform teams
Architecture and design roles focused on driving standards and best practices across Workday
Career progression into engineering management or senior technical leadership roles

📝 Enhancement Note: Growth opportunities are based on role complexity, design industry trends, and Workday's organizational structure.

🌐 Work Environment

Studio Type: Hybrid (2 days on-site per week)

Office Location(s): Boulder, Colorado, United States

Design Workspace Context:

Modern, collaborative office environment with dedicated workspaces for on-site days
Access to remote work tools and resources for hybrid work arrangement
Opportunities for in-person collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other platform teams

Work Schedule: Full-time (40 hours per week) with flexible hours and remote work options

📝 Enhancement Note: Workday's approach to flexible work enables teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work by spending at least half (50%) of their time each quarter in the office or in the field.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Design Interview Process:

Phone or video screen with a technical lead or engineering manager
Technical deep dive with a senior software engineer or architect
Final interview with the Engineering Manager and other stakeholders

Portfolio Review Tips:

Highlight your experience with backend service design and development
Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to work with distributed systems and microservice architecture
Include examples of your involvement in incident response and service improvement

Challenge Preparation:

Brush up on your knowledge of backend service design patterns and best practices
Prepare for questions about your experience with service monitoring, observability tools, and incident response
Be ready to discuss your approach to designing scalable services and frameworks

ATS Keywords: Java, Python, Typescript, Backend Services, Frameworks, Service Monitoring, Observability Tools, Incident Response, Distributed Systems, Microservice Architecture, CI/CD Pipelines, Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes, Developer Experience, Communication Skills

📝 Enhancement Note: The application deadline for this role is the same as the posting end date: 2025-06-05.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Design Tools:

Java, Python, or Typescript (required)
Backend service design and development frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot, Flask, Express)
Containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
Cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure)

Collaboration & Handoff:

Git for version control and collaboration
Jenkins for CI/CD pipelines
Confluence for documentation and knowledge-sharing

Research & Testing:

Service monitoring and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack)
Incident response and on-call management tools (e.g., PagerDuty, OpsGenie)
Performance testing and load testing tools (e.g., JMeter, Gatling)

📝 Enhancement Note: The specific tools and technologies used at Workday may vary depending on the project and team.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Design Values:

Customer-centricity: Focus on understanding and addressing customer needs
Innovation: Encourage experimentation and continuous learning
Collaboration: Foster a culture of teamwork and knowledge-sharing
Integrity: Act with honesty and transparency in all interactions

Collaboration Style:

Cross-functional teams and regular syncs with other platform teams
Agile methodologies and regular retrospectives
Open communication and active listening

📝 Enhancement Note: Workday's culture is driven by its value of putting its people first, with a focus on employee-centric, collaborative, and inclusive work environments.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Design Challenges:

Scaling services to meet increasing demand and user base
Ensuring high availability and service reliability
Managing complexity and technical debt in legacy systems
Balancing innovation with stability and maintainability

Learning & Development Opportunities:

Technical training and workshops
Mentorship and coaching programs
Career development and succession planning

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges and growth opportunities are based on role complexity, design industry trends, and Workday's organizational structure.

💡 Interview Preparation

Design Process Questions:

Describe your experience with backend service design and development
How have you approached service monitoring, observability, and incident response in previous roles?
Can you walk us through a complex service design challenge you've faced and how you overcame it?

Company Culture Questions:

How do you approach collaboration and knowledge-sharing with cross-functional teams?
Can you provide an example of a time when you drove consensus on an architectural decision?
How do you ensure that your work aligns with Workday's customer-centric and innovation-focused values?

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

Highlight your experience with backend service design and development
Showcase projects that demonstrate your ability to work with distributed systems and microservice architecture
Include examples of your involvement in incident response and service improvement

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview questions and strategies are based on role level, company characteristics, and design industry best practices.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this design position:

Submit your application through this link
Tailor your resume to highlight your experience with backend service design, development, and incident response
Prepare for the phone or video screen by reviewing your experience with service monitoring, observability tools, and incident response
Research Workday's company culture and values to demonstrate your fit for the role

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and design industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

Senior Software Development Engineer - UI Platform (US Federal)