Senior Principal Security Engineer

About the Role

The Senior Principal Security Engineer is the strategic "Front Door" and primary technical contact for our Enterprise Security organization. This is a high-visibility, individual contributor role designed for an experienced authority who can bridge the gap between high-level security strategy and hands-on technical execution. They will be the primary interface between Enterprise Security, broader Technology teams, and specialized Cybersecurity units, ensuring that our initiatives are not only technically sound but also seamlessly integrated across the organization. As the "second in command" to leadership, they will provide the technical connective tissue that ensures our security posture is proactive, scalable, and aligned with the speed of the business!

In this role, you will:

• Act as the Strategic Interface by serving as the primary point of awareness for all technical inquiries, project intakes, and multi-functional collaborations involving Enterprise Security.

• Mentor and Influence by providing deep technical mentorship to engineers across the team while influencing senior partners on critical security investments and architectural pivots.

• Bridge Silos and partner with Infrastructure, Engineering, and specialized Cyber teams (e.g., SOC, GRC, AppSec) to ensure unified execution of the security roadmap.

• Tackle "Impossible" Problems and be responsible for the most sophisticated, high-impact security challenges that require a "big picture" view of the entire technology stack.

• Advise Leadership by acting as a trusted technical advisor to the head of Enterprise Security, translating complex technical risks into actionable business strategies.

About You

This is the ideal role for a multidisciplinary security veteran that has spent years in the trenches but has evolved into a strategic problem solver. They won't just find holes in a system; they build the roadmap to fix them at scale. Are you comfortable in the "gray space" between departments and do you possess the emotional intelligence to lead through influence rather than authority?

Basic Qualifications:

• Experience: 12+ years of experience in Cybersecurity, with at least 5 years in a Lead, Principal, or Staff-level capacity within a large-scale enterprise environment with deep technical proficiency across multiple domains, including Cloud Security (AWS/Azure/GCP), Identity and Access Management (IAM), Network Security, and Zero Trust architectures.

• The "Front Door" Mentality: Consistent record of leading complex multi-functional relationships and serving as a liaison between technical and non-technical teams.

• Strategic Execution: Experience developing and driving security strategies quickly and accurately.

• Security Engineering Mastery: Expert-level understanding of secure SDLC, infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/CloudFormation), and automation-first security operations.

• Security Tool Familiarity: Experience with best-of-breed security solutions across the landscape such as SASE, SSPM, DSPM, CSPM, DLP, IDP, EDR, and EDM.

• Education/Certification: A Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science or a related field (or equivalent experience); advanced certifications (CISSP-ISSAP, CCSP, or similar) are preferred but secondary to your consistent record of delivery.

Other Qualifications

• Master facilitator driving creative technical decisions while considering conflicting viewpoints

• Practical experience of Security threat modeling, risk analysis, and control definition

• Proven results in working with key partners and executives from engineering organizations to automate and integrate security into their workflows and promote security practices

• Good knowledge of common vulnerabilities in applications and infrastructure with strong knowledge of how to defend against these vulnerabilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, building positive relationships with partners internal and external to the Security organization

• Communication Mastery: The ability to distill highly technical concepts into clear, executive-level briefings while maintaining credibility with deep-subject-matter experts.

Workday Pay Transparency Statement

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please .

Primary Location: USA.GA.AtlantaPrimary Location Base Pay Range: $205,600 USD - $308,400 USDAdditional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $195,400 USD - $348,000 USD