Principal Product Manager, Spend Management (Finance Applications)
Workday· enterprise· HR/Payroll Software· Oct 7, 2026 · 21d ago
Pleasanton, CA
In office
Full-time
Principal
$196K–$294K
10+ years exp
Job description
Your work days are brighter here.
We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun-drenched optimism and drive. Whether you re building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.
About the Team
The Finance Applications team's mission is to foster business and customer success through Workday and best-in-class Finance technology. As Workday's Customer Zero for Finance, we run the company's Source-to-Pay, Record-to-Report, and Order-to-Cash operations on Workday, shape the product through early adoption and direct feedback to Product & Technology, and build the AI agents and automation that transform how Finance works. Our core principle is to cultivate empowered, diverse teams with the freedom to experiment, celebrate learning, and drive AI-powered innovation, leading to a brighter Workday for all.
About the Role
The Principal Product Manager for Spend Management will be a pivotal leader, defining and driving our AI-first strategy for the Source-to-Pay ecosystem: Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Management, Accounts Payable, and Expenses. This role orchestrates Workday s Spend Management suite, custom innovations, and third-party technologies into a premier, intelligent procure-to-pay platform. By embedding intelligent automation, agentic workflows, and generative AI into requisitioning, supplier onboarding, invoice processing, and expense management, you will unlock measurable business value and create streamlined experiences for buyers, suppliers, and Finance.
The Product Manager will be part of Business Technology under Product & Technology, responsible for defining the Spend product roadmap and designing digital and agentic Spend experiences leveraging AI, agentic, and core technologies.
Job Duties
AI-First Product Vision, Strategy and Roadmap: Architect and champion a long-term product roadmap for the Spend Management ecosystem, centered on AI, agents, and automation across the Source-to-Pay lifecycle.
Intelligent Product Lifecycle Management: Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle for Spend initiatives, from ideation and business case development to requirements definition, delivery, and ROI measurement.
Business Partnership: Serve as the primary BT partner to Procurement, Accounts Payable, Expenses, and Finance leadership. Translate complex procure-to-pay challenges into solvable problems and articulate a clear vision that secures consensus and drives cross-functional alignment.
Customer Zero Influence & Innovation: Partner closely with Workday s Spend Management product teams to influence the future product roadmap. Proactively lead release cycles to adopt new Spend features and agents early and be a leading voice in their creation and application.
Delivery Leadership: Lead high-performing agile teams of functional architects, engineers, and vendor partners. Own user stories, story slotting, release readiness, and change management to ensure alignment with sprint cycles and delivery timelines.
Ecosystem & Vendor Strategy: Evaluate and lead a portfolio of Spend-adjacent technology partners and vendors (supplier networks, payments, tax, expense capture), ensuring the ecosystem is composed of best-in-class solutions aligned to strategic goals.
Controls & Compliance: Partner with Accounting, Tax, and Internal Audit to ensure Spend processes and automation meet SOX, policy, and audit requirements.
About You
Basic Qualifications:
10 years of experience in product management, with a significant focus on shipping enterprise-level, technology-powered products in a B2B or SaaS environment.
5 years of ERP implementation domain expertise in Source-to-Pay processes (Procurement, Sourcing, Supplier Management, Accounts Payable, Expenses), with best practices and a vision for how AI can fundamentally transform them.
3 years of direct experience leading and launching AI/ML-powered or automation products, with a track record of taking systems from concept to scaled production.
Other Qualifications:
Managing a Spend or Finance roadmap through strategic collaboration with Business stakeholders and Product & Technology (P&T) teams.
Consistent record of successfully integrating ERP systems (preferably Workday Spend Management) with supplier networks, payment providers, tax engines, and enterprise data platforms.
Lead user stories and manage story slotting to ensure alignment with defined sprint cycles and delivery timelines.
Shown experience leading high-performing agile product teams, including offshore and vendor partners.
Outstanding problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate ambiguous business problems into concrete product requirements and technical specifications.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, with proven experience communicating complex technical concepts and product strategies to senior executives.
Familiarity with the AI technology stack, including agents, foundational models (LLMs), data pipelines, and MLOps.
Workday Financials and Spend certifications (e.g., Procurement, Expenses, Supplier Accounts, FDM) are highly preferred.
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 click here .
Primary Location: USA.CA.Pleasanton
Primary Location Base Pay Range: $196,000 USD - $294,000 USD
Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $167,200 USD - $294,000 USD
Our Approach to Flexible Work
With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you ll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote home office roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.
Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision-making to any degree. Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law.
Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodations, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law.
If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email accommodations workday.com , as far in advance as possible.
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