Sr. Manager, Application Development (Workday)

Location:  5 days on site ( but will have 50 remote days to choose from +  every federal holiday off and  the week of Christmas/new years employees are completely remote.) 

Role Overview
This person will support the HR and Finance space within the Workday ecosystem. They need to be both highly technical and a strong leader.

The role itself will not be hands-on day-to-day, but they need to have been hands-on with Workday throughout their career and stayed close enough to the technology to lead technical teams, challenge decisions, and speak confidently with senior leadership.

Top Must-Haves

• 8–10+ years of deep Workday experience preferred; 6–8 may work depending on depth
• Experience across both Workday HR/HCM and Finance
• Needs broad Workday ecosystem knowledge — not just one module
• Should understand core HR areas such as HCM, payroll, recruiting, time tracking, etc., in addition to the Finance side
• Strong technical/application development background
• AWS is very important
• Java/application development exposure
• Strong leadership experience in addition to technical experience
• Comfortable working directly with senior executives and business leaders

Workday Experience – Important Distinction
Someone who has only:

• Administered Workday
• Participated in one Workday implementation
• Specialized in one module
• Worked for a client that happens to use Workday

will likely not have enough depth.

Consulting experience can work, but ideally they have been consulting specifically within the Workday ecosystem and have had broad exposure across the platform.

Team Structure
This person will have an existing Manager reporting into them, and that Manager oversees a small team of permanent employees and contractors. The Sr. Manager may also oversee additional consultants/contractors directly.

We should look for someone who has experience leading technical teams and ideally has experience managing managers, not just individual contributors.

Culture / Leadership Fit
They want someone who:

• Can push both the team and the business forward
• Holds people accountable
• Delivers and executes
• Has urgency and passion
• Can challenge people without being overbearing
• Can balance the needs of two different business groups — HR and Finance
• Is comfortable stepping in quickly and owning deliverables

Questions to Ask When Screening

1. How many years have you worked directly within the Workday ecosystem?
2. What Workday modules have you personally worked with?
3. Have you supported both Workday HCM/HR and Workday Finance? Please walk me through your experience with each.
4. How hands-on were you with Workday earlier in your career?
5. Have you owned Workday beyond an implementation — including ongoing enhancements, integrations, support, reporting, and platform changes?
6. Were you working directly within Workday, or consulting for a client that simply used Workday?
7. What is your technical background prior to moving into leadership?
8. What exposure do you have to AWS? (Get into specifics)
9. What exposure do you have to Java or broader application development environments?
10. How large of a team have you led? Have you managed other managers?
11. Have you led a mix of permanent employees, contractors, and consultants?
12. Tell me about your experience working directly with HR and Finance business leaders.
13. Have you presented technical delivery updates, risks, or issues to CIO-level or other senior executives?

Red Flags

• Only 3–4 years of Workday
• Workday administration only
• One-time implementation experience
• Only HCM or only Finance experience
• Narrow module specialization
• Pure people leader who has been removed from the technology for several years
• Consulting experience with limited Workday ownership
• No meaningful AWS/cloud exposure

Interview Process

1. Submit candidate through Workday
2. First round – approximately 30-minute virtual/video interview
3. Second round – panel interview with approximately 3–4 people
4. Final round – onsite