Workday Platform & Governance Owner - Workday SME

The Workday Platform & Governance Owner serves as the technical subject matter expert (SME) and governance authority for the Workday ecosystem supporting 10,000+ employees.

This role is responsible for tenant management, security administration, production change control, configuration standards, and complex cross-module configuration within Workday.

This position operates within IT, operating within a structured HRIS (functional design) and HRIT (technical delivery) model. This role ensures Workday remains secure, architecturally aligned, compliant, and technically optimized. While HRIT Engineers own module delivery, this role serves as the enterprise technical SME across all Workday domains and provides hands-on configuration for complex or cross-functional initiatives., Enterprise Technical SME (All Workday Modules)

• Serve as the senior technical authority across:
• Core HCM
• Position Management & Job Management
• Benefits
• Compensation & Advanced Compensation
• Recruiting
• Talent Management
• Workday Learning
• Payroll
• Time Tracking & Absence
• Security
• Integrations (EIB, Core Connectors, APIs, Studio fundamentals)

Responsibilities include advising HRIT engineers on complex configuration design, new releases, AI agents and new functionality, validating cross-module impacts, supporting troubleshooting of high-severity issues, and mentoring team members on advanced configuration practices.

Hands-On Configuration Responsibilities

• Configure complex cross-domain business processes
• Design and implement advanced security groups and domain policies
• Configure complex eligibility rules and condition logic
• Support advanced compensation cycle setup
• Configure complex Position Management structures
• Build enterprise-impact calculated fields
• Support integration troubleshooting
• Perform configuration clean-up and technical debt remediation

Tenant Management & Environment Governance

• Create and Maintain Tenant Management Plan
• Oversee all Workday tenants (Production, Sandbox, Dev, Preview)
• Coordinate sandbox refresh schedules
• Enforce Dev * Test * Prod migration controls
• Approve production configuration migrations
• Oversee release preview cycles
• Maintain production access governance
• Support emergency change management
• Lead governance processes, including prioritization of enhancements, upgrades and releases.
• Establish and enforce technical and application change management standards, ensuring compliance with documentation and audit requirements

Security & Access Governance

• Maintain enterprise Workday security model
• Monitor and remediate segregation of duties (SOD) conflicts
• Conduct periodic security reviews
• Review elevated access requests
• Partner with IT Security and Audit teams

Production Change Control & CAB Leadership

• Chair Workday Change Advisory Board (CAB) for Intake and Demand
• Review cross-module impact of proposed changes
• Validate testing documentation prior to approval
• Maintain structured change control records

• 7-10 years HRIS experience
• 5+ years advanced hands-on Workday configuration
• Workday Pro Certifications
• Deep expertise across all major Workday modules
• Strong Position Management and Job Management experience
• Experience designing and maintaining security architecture
• Strong understanding of SOD and audit controls
• Experience operating within a multi-tenant governance model, Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment-based visas (e.g., such as an H-1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Every day, Guardian helps our 29 million customers realize their dreams through a range of insurance and financial products and services. Our Purpose, to inspire well-being, guides our dedication to the colleagues, consumers, and communities we serve. We know that people count, and we go above and beyond to prepare them for the life they want to live, focusing on their overall well-being - mind, body, and wallet. As one of the largest mutual insurance companies, we put our customers first. Behind every bright future is a GuardianTM. Learn more about Guardian at guardianlife.com .