Workday Solution Architect
Saks GlobalYOU WILL BE: Exemplar Luxury Group is seeking an experienced Workday Solution Architect to serve as the technical visionary and solution architect across our HR and Finance enterprise platform. In this lead role, you will test new Workday capabilities, build proof-of-concepts, and deliver end-to-end technical solutions. As the technical lead, you will provide functional direction and task oversight to an offshore Innovations Squad of developers, while collaborating seamlessly with internal Functional and Guardrail squads within the broader Business Systems support organization. You will spearhead innovation by designing Proof of Concepts (PoCs) across Workday Extend, Prism Analytics derived datasets (for complex calculations like sales commissions), Workday AI/Agentic capabilities, and general ERP integrations—establishing repeatable hand-off processes for offshore delivery teams. WHAT YOU WILL DO: Innovations Squad Technical Oversight: Provide functional leadership, technical direction, and workload coordination for an offshore Innovations Squad . Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs), design standards, and review practices to ensure seamless, repeatable hand-offs from architectural concepts to production execution. Cross-Squad Collaboration & Alignment: Serve as the technical bridge between the Innovations Squad , the Functional Squad (HCM, Payroll and Finance technical leads), and the Guardrail Squad (platform governance, core security, and compliance). Ensure all technical enhancements adhere to platform guardrails and align with functional roadmaps. Proof of Concept (PoC) & Solution Architecture: Act as the hands-on lead architect by building PoCs for novel business requirements. Validate feasibility for emerging Workday technology, refine implementation blueprints, and establish repeatable delivery frameworks for the offshore team to build and scale. Advanced Technology Execution: Workday Prism Analytics & Business Engines: Architect end-to-end Prism solutions that leverage transformation pipelines and derived datasets to run complex calculations—such as retail sales commissions, variable incentive pay, margin distributions, and multi-source financial reconciliations—making outputs operational within Workday and downstream systems. Workday Extend: Architect and prototype custom native applications, custom objects, and API-driven extension workflows, creating scalable design patterns for developers to extend Workday functionality. Workday AI & Intelligent Agents: Evaluate and prototype Workday AI capabilities, automated agentic workflows, and machine learning models, creating practical playbooks for integrating intelligent automation into everyday business operations. Enterprise ERP Integration Strategy: Oversee the architecture and governance of core Workday integrations (EIB, Core Connectors, Studio, Web Services/REST APIs) connecting Workday to complex retail supply chain, POS, payroll, and financial software ecosystems. Operational & Release Governance: Partner with the Guardrail Squad to review bi-annual Workday releases. Identify opportunities to adopt new AI features, Extend updates, and platform innovations while overseeing change control and regression testing. WHAT YOU WILL BRING: Experience: 10+ years of progressive experience in Workday solution design, system architecture, and integrations. Proven track record acting as a Technical Lead or Solution Architect coordinating developer resources in a global/offshore delivery model. Matrix & Resource Leadership: Exceptional ability to guide and oversee technical delivery teams. Strong stakeholder coordination across functional, governance, and technical workstreams. Technical & Prism Expertise: Deep expertise in Workday Studio, EIBs, Core Connectors, and Web Services/APIs, combined with architectural experience in Workday Extend and Prism Analytics (specifically using derived datasets and complex calculated fields for business rules like …