Process
I applied to Workday through a referral and was contacted by three recruiters.
All of them were unsure about which role would be a better fit for me.
I spoke to three different hiring managers.
I was called onsite and met with members from two teams.
I was called onsite again since they were still unsure about which team might be ideal.
A couple of weeks later, I was informed that they did not see a fit for me.
Questions
Behavioral questions, culture fit, etc.
Domain-specific questions about cryptography, SSO, OAuth, AES, certificates, etc.
System design questions about scaling web services.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Workday Principal Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Workday's interview process for their Principal Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Workday's Principal Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Workday Work Experiences
- 3.0Good Balance, Old TechPrincipal Software Engineer • Former EmployeePleasanton, California, United StatesNovember 23, 2022Pros: - Good work-life balance - Good benefitsCons: - The tech stack is very old. - Some orgs have discrimination issues.
- 2.0Core values mean nothing; absolute mayhemPrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeePleasanton, California, United StatesMarch 2, 2023Pros: - Friendly and cooperative engineering organization - RSU Stock Plan - Parental, disability leave at 100% of salaryCons: - Constant reorgs mean lost knowledge and shifting priorities. - Failure to retain key players. - Some managers are toxic and don't care about their employees. - The tech stack is a decade old. - The customer needs an engineer to configure the app. - Failure to recognize the product has a bad reputation with customers.
- 3.0proprietary technology and siloedPrincipal Software Engineer • Former EmployeePleasanton, California, United StatesMay 9, 2025Pros: Culture, benefits, "unlimited" time offCons: proprietary technology. While the backend is mostly industry standard, it's extremely abstracted. As a developer, you will be writing software by pointing and clicking. New grads and mid-career engineers, be aware that the tech industry is aware of this and knows that you likely don't have professional experience in the latest technology. While the company is indeed diverse, it's literally only on the surface by race. Ideas, beliefs, and politics are homogeneous. The two recent layoffs in the wake of the Covid pandemic and other headwinds were macroeconomic events. I don't fault Carl Eschenbach or the leadership for making a decision no one wanted to make.
Workday Interview Questions
