Principal Full Stack Software Engineer

Job Description

Principal Software Development Engineer | Workday

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Workday, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a flexible work approach. Workday, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, actively shaping the future of work. This Principal Software Development Engineer position is vital to building the next chapter of Workday’s platform within the Agent Factory team. You will be responsible for bringing Workday’s intelligent AI agents to life, deeply embedding production-grade AI into HR and Finance workflows to create products millions will use daily.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full Time
• Location: Hybrid – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• Pay: $168000–$252000 yearly
• Team: Agent Factory – small, senior, cross-functional AI teams
• Mission: To design and ship full stack solutions for Workday’s AI agents, turning powerful technology into scalable and reliable products for HR and Finance workflows.
• Tech Stack: Python (Flask, Django, FastAPI), PostgreSQL, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Elasticsearch

What You’ll Actually Do
• Build: Deliver full stack features that power AI agents embedded directly into HR and Financial workflows.
• Own: Take responsibility for services and experiences from initial development through to production operation.
• Collaborate: Engage in an iterative, team-first environment that emphasizes strong engineering practices and continuous learning.
• Mentor: Share technical knowledge, mentor teammates, and contribute to raising the technical bar across the pod.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Principal-level full stack software engineer, responsible for building user-facing and platform experiences for Workday’s AI agents. This role requires a strong understanding of turning powerful technology into scalable and reliable products that simplify complex business processes.
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years in software engineering. At least 5 years of experience with web development frameworks, with a preference for Python-based options like Flask, Django, or FastAPI. A minimum of 5 years experience with a Relational Database, with PostgreSQL being preferred. Proven success building and operating SaaS products, ideally within cloud environments such as AWS.
• Skills: Familiarity with the tradeoffs and architecture of modern distributed systems. Strong knowledge of software development best practices including DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, and observability. Hands-on experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes. Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively in agile, cross-functional teams and possess strong communication skills to work with both technical and non-technical partners. Comfortable with ambiguity, able to translate complex problems into clear, thoughtful solutions, and committed to fostering an inclusive, team-oriented environment.
• Bonus: Familiarity with Elasticsearch. Exposure to additional programming languages like Java for backend development and TypeScript for frontend or fullstack roles.