Senior HRIS Analyst

The role, in a nutshell

The Senior Workday HRIS Analyst is our hands-on expert for making Workday work at scale. You’ll lead and support core HCM configuration, optimization, and data integrity across the entire employee lifecycle from first offer to last paycheck, and ensure Workday is a reliable, secure source of truth for Chainguard.

Reporting to the Sr. HRIS Manager, you’ll partner closely with People, People Operations, Total Rewards, Payroll, Finance, and IT to design systems that are scalable, compliant, and actually delightful to use (yes, even for approvals). You’ll lead complex configuration work, influence cross-functional initiatives through deep functional expertise, and provide informed guidance on Workday best practices.

If you’re energized by building clean, well-documented systems that reduce manual work and help people do their best work, this role is for you.

What you’ll do

• Design, configure, and optimize Workday across modules such as Core HCM, Compensation, Benefits, Absence, Talent, and Security, partnering closely to ensure scalability, auditability, and a strong user experience.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex issues, leading advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and long-term fixes that improve system stability and performance.
  
• Design and maintain core Workday logic including business processes, condition rules, calculated fields, eligibility rules, and validations — to keep data clean and workflows intuitive.
  
• Build reports, dashboards, and analytics that give People, leaders, and business partners clear visibility into headcount, programs, and trends — including advanced calculated fields and complex reporting use cases.
  
• Partner on integrations and data flows (e.g., EIBs, RaaS, and third-party vendors), helping ensure appropriate data governance, security, and ongoing reliability as Workday supports a growing ecosystem.
  
• Translate business needs into scalable Workday solutions, providing clear options, recommendations, and impact assessments for stakeholders at every level.
  
• Lead testing and release management for Workday updates and enhancements, including test strategy, regression testing, UAT coordination, and communication of changes to end users and leaders.
  
• Create documentation and training that sticks, from runbooks and configuration notes to how-to guides, to reduce single points of failure, upskill stakeholders, and drive adoption.

• 4–6+ years of HRIS experience with deep, hands-on Workday configuration, ideally in a scaling or complex environment.
  
• Strong expertise in Core HCM, plus at least two additional Workday functional areas (e.g., Compensation, Benefits, Absence, Talent, Security).
  
• Proven experience leading cross-functional HR programs and projects where Workday was the primary system of record and you served as the functional or technical owner.
  
• Advanced reporting skills, including comfort with complex calculated fields and dashboards tailored to HR and business stakeholders.
  
• Strong understanding of HR data governance, security, and compliance, including role-based access, audit needs, and controls for sensitive data.
  
• Pragmatic problem-solver with strong operational range, able to think through system design implications while remaining hands-on with complex HRIS workflows.
  
• Clear, confident communicator who can influence stakeholders, explain trade-offs in plain language, and build trust across People, Payroll, Finance, and IT.

• Workday certifications in relevant functional areas.
  
• Experience supporting integrations, vendor connections, or data feeds between Workday and downstream systems.
  
• Experience supporting global organizations and multi-country configurations (e.g., different legal entities, time off plans, benefits rules, or regulatory requirements).
  
• Experience in a high-growth or scaling environment where processes and org structures are evolving quickly.

• Workday is accurate, scalable, and aligned with the business. Core HCM configurations are well-designed, documented, and resilient to change.
• HR and People programs run smoothly. Manual work, one-off spreadsheets, and rework are reduced, and stakeholders can trust the data they see.
• HRIS is seen as a strategic partner. Leaders across People, Payroll, Finance, and IT look to you early for input on new programs and process changes.
• HRIS work is documented and structured so that configurations, processes, and supporting integrations are understandable and testable, reducing reliance on any single individual.