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Principal API Architect, Product Engineering – Agent‑Ready APIs & Data

Pleasanton, CA · full time · Principal

$206,400 – $309,600

Listed on Workday’s own careers site. You apply with them directly — we never stand between you and the employer.

What this role is

This Principal-level role leads API architecture strategy across Workday's Product Engineering organization, setting standards and governance for APIs that support AI agents and integrations. The position suits experienced backend architects who excel at cross-team influence, technical standard-setting, and mentoring engineers in distributed systems and API design.

Our summary, not Workday’s wording. The full posting is on their site.

Skills this role names

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What they ask for

Required

12+ years building large-scale backend systems and APIs
5+ years in senior architecture or staff-plus role with organization-wide API/platform responsibility
5+ years hands-on experience with TypeScript or Python for web services and APIs
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
Expertise in distributed systems and cloud architectures
Leadership in API governance and standards definition
Strong communication and mentoring abilities

Nice to have

Understanding of MCP protocol specification and architecture
Experience with AI-assisted code generation tools (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot)
Expertise in edge and gateway patterns (routing, auth, throttling, rate limiting)
Experience designing observability for APIs and defining SLOs
Familiarity with agentic AI use cases and LLM/enterprise API integration
Experience with data platforms like Data Cloud
Proven track record of setting technical standards across multiple teams