We are seeking a skilled and experienced HCM Solutions Architect to join our People Technology team. In this role, you will be responsible for forward looking HCM Roadmap and influence the technology stack through your end-to-end expertise. You will also drive our optimization efforts through your domain and technology expertise. The responsibility for this role includes the design, implementation, and maintenance of Workday and related solutions within our organization. You will collaborate closely with the People Group, and other stakeholders, including Finance and IT to ensure our Workday platform and related HCM solutions meet business requirements and enhance operational efficiency

The ideal candidate will have an expert level understanding of Workday and other HCM solutions’ cross-functional complexities, security, configurations, and best practices, coupled with strong analytical skills and the ability to translate business requirements into effective system solutions. This role is expected to influence, collaborate and develop best in class solutions.

This role will also be responsible for identifying AI and automation solutions to help us scale and provide a seamless and frictionless experience to team members

This is a hybrid role requiring 1-2 days a week in our Plano office.

Duties and responsibilities, as they align to Ryan’s Key Results

People:

• Stakeholder Engagement
  • Serve as a strategic advisor to our People Group and other Stakeholders, translating complex business needs into scalable, maintainable solutions leveraging Workday and other related technologies.
  • Partner with stakeholders to define problem statements, assess business impact, and ensure alignment between technology solutions and business priorities.

Client:

• Solution Design
  • Collaborate with cross-functional global teams to gather requirements; analyze workflows and data needs; identify opportunities for people, process, and technology improvements; and, prioritize and refine requested improvements
  • Evaluate and shape new project and product requests for strategic fit, technical feasibility, and alignment with enterprise system design
  • Provide leadership on build vs. buy decisions, managing technical debt, scalability, and performance trade-offs.
  • Act as a thought partner and a mentor to team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and excellence

Value:

• System Configuration & Process Optimization
  • Design, develop and oversee the application of innovative, scalable configuration standards and solutions that drive automation, efficiency, and long-term scalability
  • Ensure system and data integrity through expert-level configuration of security, business processes, calculated fields, condition rules, and validations
  • Design and optimize data flows between Workday and internal systems, ensuring data accuracy and process efficiency
  • Expert level Subject matter expert in more than one of the Workday modules - including HCM, Security, Learning, Absence, Compensation, Performance, Time Tracking, Analytics
  • Configure Workday functionality based on business needs and best practices
  • Develop and execute test plans to ensure system integrity and data accuracy
  • Ability to design and deliver Workday Extend, PRISM and Agentic AI solutions

• Lead Development, Support, and Continual Improvement
  • Ability to be forward thinking and drive our future state HRIS function including end-to-end architecture, and strategic roadmap including Agentic AI capabilities, and Built on Workday solutions
  • Ability to evaluate and select best in breed add-on products to enhance Employee experience, and manage the technology stack wholistically
  • Lead ongoing assessment of Workday platform health and user experience metrics to inform continuous improvement and maximize business value
  • Lead in development and support activities, as well as participating hands-on in the ongoing development, support, troubleshooting, and maintenance of Workday configurations
  • Impact analysis of major Workday releases, including feature adoption strategy, regression testing, and stakeholder impact analysis
  • High level understanding and involvement in Workday integrations from an end-to-end design perspective (integration expertise not needed)
  • Own end-to-end lifecycle management of Workday documentation, version control, and change processes across all modules
  • Stay updated on changes affecting HR systems and provide recommendations to implement innovative improvement
• Governance, Security, Privacy, & Compliance
  • Implement and manage security protocols to protect sensitive employee information.
  • Ensure the HRIS complies with data privacy regulations and policies, in collaboration with the organization's IT and legal teams.
  • Ensure Workday architecture, configurations, and change management processes are prepared to meet SOX compliance and audit standards, partnering closely with internal audit, InfoSec, and compliance teams.
  • Enable secure and compliant innovation by champion governance practices that balance flexibility with control across the Workday ecosystem.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field; or equivalent work experience.
• 7+ years of HRIS experience, specialized in Workday HCM modules and reporting in a technical and leadership capacity
• 5+ years of experience with hands-on Workday configuration and implementation
• Hands-on experience implementing and supporting multiple Workday HCM modules
• Experience as a solution architect, or equivalent, on at least one full life-cycle implementation of Workday HCM
• Working Knowledge of AI features available in Workday
• Experience in building scalable AI solutions with Workday and/or non-Workday solutions to scale and provide a seamless experience
• Reporting skills to be able to build custom reports in native Workday and People Analytics modules
• Excellent problem solving skills with the ability to take the initiative to establish priorities, meet deadlines, and make decisions within the functional area of responsibility with minimal direct supervision.
• Think Analytically and can effectively apply logic to solve problems.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Must have strong organizational, interpersonal, communication skills and attention to detail

Computer Skills:

To perform this job successfully, an individual should have - Advanced Excel skills. Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Microsoft® Access, SharePoint, Word, Outlook, Teams, Zoom  and PowerPoint. 

Preferred Skills:

• Pro-Certifications in Workday
• Hands on experience with Extend-Pro and PRISM

Certificates and Licenses:

Valid driver’s license required. 

Supervisory Responsibilities:

None.

Work Environment:

• Standard indoor office environment.
• Long periods of sitting while working at computer.
• Occasional long periods of standing.
• Must be able to lift, carry, push or pull up to 30 lbs. 
• Position requires regular interaction with employees and vendors both in person and via e-mail and telephone.
• Independent travel requirement:  Less than 10%.