Workday Engineering Lead

Job Description

Workday Engineering Lead (Vice President)

Department: Technology – Corporate Technology (HR Technology)
Reports to: Head of HR Technology, Engineering
Location: New York, NY

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

Ares is seeking a Workday Engineering Lead (Vice President) to join our HR Technology team in New York. This role will lead the design, configuration, and ongoing evolution of Workday across Core HCM and related HR domains, driving scalable business processes, strong controls, and reliable end-to-end execution across the HR technology ecosystem.

This is an ideal role for a hands-on Workday expert who combines deep functional knowledge with disciplined delivery and operational rigor. The Workday Engineering Lead will architect and implement business process designs, build sophisticated condition rules and custom validations, and partner closely with HR, Payroll, and cross-functional Technology teams to solve complex business challenges. The role will embed audit, risk, compliance, and segregation of duties (SoD) principles into every workflow and will coordinate with Security, Integrations, and Reporting teams to ensure cohesive solutions across Workday and connected platforms (e.g., HRSoft, Visier, viaPeople, or comparable tools).

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS AND ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the end-to-end design, configuration, testing, and deployment of Workday Business Processes, Condition Rules, and Custom Validations across multiple HR functional areas.
• Serve as the functional and configuration leader across Core HCM, Recruiting, Learning, Absence, Payroll, Advanced Benefits, and Core Compensation, ensuring alignment to business needs and Workday best practices.
• Define and maintain configuration standards and patterns that ensure scalability, maintainability, and consistent user experience.
• Embed audit, compliance, risk, and SoD principles into all process designs; partner with Security to ensure appropriate access controls, approvals, and governance.
• Partner with HR, Payroll, Finance, Security, Reporting, and Integrations teams to ensure end-to-end workflows are cohesive, well-controlled, and supportable.
• Conduct impact assessments, regression testing, and release readiness activities for Workday updates and configuration changes to ensure stability and compliance.
• Troubleshoot complex configuration and business process issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement durable long-term fixes.
• Develop and maintain high-quality documentation including configuration guides, process flows, test scripts, and operational support materials.
• Lead and mentor Workday analysts, providing guidance on functional design, configuration standards, testing discipline, and documentation expectations.
• Support data validation and analysis activities using Excel (pivot tables, lookups, and related functions) to validate outcomes and support decision-making.
• Coordinate alignment with downstream HR tools (e.g., HRSoft, Visier, viaPeople) and ensure Workday configuration supports reliable cross-system processes.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of relevant Workday configuration and HR technology experience, with demonstrated ownership of complex business process architecture and cross-domain functional solutioning.
• Deep functional expertise across Core HCM and multiple adjacent domains (Recruiting, Learning, Absence, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to engage and influence both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including senior HR leadership.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required (Management Information Systems, Business, Systems Engineering, or related field). Advanced degree a plus.

Experience Required

• Strong hands-on experience with:
  • Workday Business Process configuration
  • Condition Rules and Custom Validations
  • Cross-domain functional design, troubleshooting, and operational support
• Proven ability to design scalable configuration solutions for complex business scenarios while balancing usability, controls, and maintainability.
• Strong understanding of audit, compliance, and segregation of duties concepts and how they apply to Workday business process design and security.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with Security, Integrations, and Reporting teams to ensure cohesive system behavior and reliable end-to-end workflows.
• Proficiency in Excel for data validation and analysis (pivot tables, lookups, reconciliation approaches).
• Experience leading and mentoring teams, raising standards through coaching, best practices, and disciplined execution.
• Strong understanding of Workday data structures, security frameworks, and business process architecture.

Preferred Qualifications

• Workday certifications in HCM, Advanced Business Process, or related domains.
• Experience with HR technology ecosystems and connected platforms such as HRSoft, Visier, viaPeople, or comparable tools.
• Experience operating in a regulated or high-control environment with strong governance, audit readiness, and documentation expectations.

General Requirements

• Hands-on functional technologist with strong attention to detail and a passion for process excellence.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to translate business needs into high-quality configuration solutions.
• Excellent communication skills with strong stakeholder management and executive presence.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to partner across HR, Payroll, Finance, and Technology teams.
• Strong ownership and accountability; proactive in identifying improvements and driving them through to completion.
• Commitment to quality, documentation, testing rigor, and operational discipline.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$200k - $250k

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.