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 own 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 own complex configuration work, influence cross-functional initiatives through 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

• Own Workday configuration end-to-end across modules such as Core HCM, Compensation, Benefits, Absence, Talent, and Security — always with scalability, auditability, and user experience in mind.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex issues, leading advanced troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and long-term fixes that improve stability and performance (not just one-off workarounds).
• 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.
• Support and optimize integrations (EIBs, RaaS, and third-party vendors), ensuring robust data governance, security, and monitoring as Workday becomes more deeply embedded across our tech stack.
• 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.

What we’re looking for

• 4–6+ years of HRIS experience with deep, hands-on Workday configuration in a scaling or complex environment.
• Strong expertise in Core HCM and at least two additional Workday functional areas (e.g., Compensation, Benefits, Absence, Talent, Security).
• Proven experience leading cross-functional HR programs and projects, ideally where Workday was a central system, and you were the primary technical/functional 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 hands-on troubleshooting 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.

Bonus points

• Workday certifications in relevant functional areas.
• 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.

What success looks like

• Workday is accurate, scalable, and aligned with the business. 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, not just after the fact.
• HRIS work is documented and structured so that processes, configurations, and integrations are understandable and testable, reducing reliance on any single individual.

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