Senior Responsible AI Systems Engineer — San Francisco

Your work days are brighter here. We’re 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, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll 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. We’re 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 you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll 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, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too. About the Team Do what you love. Love what you do. At Workday, we help the world's largest organizations adapt to what's next by bringing finance, HR, and planning into a single enterprise cloud. We work hard, and we're serious about what we do. But we like to have fun, too. We put people first, celebrate diversity, drive innovation, and do good in the communities where we live and work. Workday's core value of integrity is the driving force behind the Workday Compliance & Integrity Team, which provides all Workmates with the knowledge and tools needed to act with integrity in all business situations, including the development and use of innovative artificial intelligence (AI) products and technologies. Workday’s Responsible AI program sits within the Compliance and Integrity team in Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Affairs. The program brings together technical, legal, policy, and behavioral science expertise to identify and manage AI risk while enabling Workday to innovate quickly. Our work spans the AI lifecycle, from risk classification and evaluation to governance, monitoring, and deployment. As AI becomes increasingly embedded across Workday’s products and internal operations, we are building the programs, processes, workflows, and technical infrastructure needed to make Responsible AI scalable and durable. Much as data and privacy engineers translate legal and policy requirements into working technical systems, Responsible AI Systems Engineering turns Responsible AI principles, policies, and standards into automated tooling, workflows, controls, and infrastructure. The goal is to embed Responsible AI into how AI is built and used at Workday—not treat it as a one-time review step. About the Role This is an exciting opportunity to help build out both the operating model and technical systems that support a still-new but growing program at Workday: Responsible AI. As Workday accelerates both our development and use of AI internally, we must scale our ability to govern these systems through clear programs, repeatable processes, effective cross-functional execution, and practical automation. This is a systems engineering role at the intersection of engineering and governance, combining technical capability with strong cross-functional execution. The focus is on driving cross-functional Responsible AI initiatives from planning through implementation and adoption. The role combines strong program execution, technical fluency, operational judgment, and hands-on systems orientation. You will help coordinate and operationalize Responsible AI governance across Product, Engineering, Legal, Privacy, Security, Data, and other partner teams, while also contributing to the workflows, tooling, integrations, and automation that make that governance scalable. This role is well suited for someone who can move between program management and technical operations: organizing ambiguous work into actionable plans, aligning stakeholders, translating policy and governance requirements into system and process requirements, tracking risks and dependencies, and helping teams adopt new Responsible AI ways of working. You will work closely with the Lead Principal Responsible AI Systems Engineer to execute priority initiatives, support system implementation workstreams, and ensure Responsible AI workflows are delivered with quality, reliability, and appropriate technical rigor. This is a highly collaborative role. The Senior Responsible AI Systems Engineer will partner with product, ML engineering, data science, security, privacy, legal, and compliance teams to embed governance into the systems and processes where AI products and capabilities are built, deployed, monitored, and improved. Responsibilities • Drive Responsible AI program execution across product and technical teams. Lead and coordinate cross-functional Responsible AI initiatives from planning through delivery, including scope definition, requirements gathering, milestone tracking, risk management, stakeholder alignment, launch readiness, and post-launch adoption. • Translate Responsible AI requirements into scalable operating models. Partner with Legal, Privacy, Product, Engineering, Security, and other stakeholders to translate policies, standards, regulatory requirements, and risk-management expectations into repeatable workflows, controls, playbooks, technical requirements, and implementation plans. • Work with the Lead Principal Responsible AI Systems Engineer to deliver priority systems and governance workstreams. Work with the Lead Principal Responsible AI Systems Engineer on technical and programmatic priorities, helping break complex Responsible AI initiatives into executable workstreams, coordinating dependencies, and ensuring timely delivery across multiple partner teams. • Coordinate implementation of Responsible AI workflows and tooling. Support the design, implementation, rollout, and continuous improvement of workflows, orchestration processes, automated checkpoints, evidence-capture mechanisms, dashboards, forms, and developer-facing interfaces that operationalize Responsible AI principles across the AI development and deployment lifecycle. • Partner on systems engineering and automation activities. Contribute to the implementation, integration, testing, monitoring, maintenance, debugging, and improvement of Responsible AI tooling and platforms, working with technical leads and engineering partners to ensure systems are reliable, usable, scalable, and aligned with program requirements. • Operationalize evolving Responsible AI requirements. Work with Responsible AI subject-matter experts and the Lead Principal Responsible AI Systems Engineer to translate emerging risks, regulations, standards, and use cases into updated controls, protocols, workflows, documentation, and technical implementation requirements. • Enable adoption by partner teams. Create and maintain repeatable playbooks, process documentation, training materials, intake guidance, and self-service resources that help Product, Engineering, Product Legal, Global Legal Services, and other partner teams use Responsible AI systems and processes with decreasing reliance on bespoke support. • Improve processes through automation and operational rigor. Identify opportunities to replace manual or bespoke processes with standardized workflows, reusable templates, automation, and system-driven controls; partner with technical teams to prioritize improvements that increase efficiency, consistency, observability, and scalability. • Support governance technology evaluation and continuous improvement. Help evaluate workflow orchestration, automation, reporting, and integration capabilities needed to scale Responsible AI governance as Workday grows and regulatory requirements evolve. • Serve as a cross-functional Responsible AI implementation partner. Represent the Responsible AI team in program, product, technical, and governance forums; communicate status and risks clearly; help stakeholders understand implementation expectations; and support adoption of Responsible AI-by-design practices across Workday. About You Basic Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in quantitative science, Engineering, Information Systems, Business Administration, a related technical or operational field, or equivalent practical experience. • 5+ years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree, or 3+ years with an advanced degree, in systems engineering, developer operations, product operations, technical program management, or a similar role developing  or managing technical programs, tooling, systems, or automation. • 3+ years of experience leading or coordinating complex, cross-functional technical initiatives from requirements through implementation, including working across engineering, product, legal, privacy, or other governance functions, and communicating status to senior stakeholders. • Experience translating business, legal, policy, risk, compliance, or governance requirements into operational processes, technical requirements, implementation plans, controls, or scalable workflows. • Experience working with technical systems, tools, platforms, workflows, automation, or integrations in partnership with engineering, product, data, privacy, security, legal, or compliance teams. Other Qualifications • Familiarity with Responsible AI frameworks, policies, regulations, and standards, such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, EU AI Act, or similar governance frameworks is a strong plus. • Proficiency in at least one programming or scripting language (e.g., Python, Java) and experience with workflow orchestration or automation platforms a strong plus. • Technical fluency sufficient to partner effectively with engineering teams, understand system architecture and implementation tradeoffs, participate in troubleshooting, and help translate governance requirements into practical system or automation requirements. • Strong program management skills, including project planning, schedule development, status reporting, stakeholder management, risk mitigation, executive communication, and the ability to manage multiple concurrent deliverables. • Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate between technical and non-technical stakeholders and enable teams to adopt new systems, processes, and ways of working. • Comfort operating in highly ambiguous situations and building early-stage programs, processes, and systems in a still-maturing area. • Growth mindset, bias toward action, patience when needed, and a good sense of humor. After all, one of Workday’s core values is Fun! 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 candidate’s 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 Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please click here . Primary Location: USA.CA.Pleasanton   Primary Location Base Pay Range: $168,700 USD - $253,100 USD   Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $142,500 USD - $253,100 USD Our Approach to Flexible Work   With Flex Work, we’re 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 you'll 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. Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision-making to any degree. Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law. Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodations, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law. If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email accommodations@workday.com , as far in advance as possible. Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Workday about our Employee Referral process! At Workday, we value our candidates’ privacy and data security.  Workday will never ask candidates to apply to jobs through websites that are not Workday Careers.     Please be aware of sites that may ask for you to input your data in connection with a job posting that appears to be from Workday but is not.    In addition, Workday will never ask candidates to pay a recruiting fee, or pay for consulting or coaching services, in order to apply for a job at Workday.