Senior Legal Counsel, Workday
$160.8-285.7k
Salary dependent on location
Enterprise AI platform for managing HR, finance & IT
Posted today
Enterprise AI platform for managing HR, finance & IT
1001+ employees
Posted today
$160.8-285.7k
Salary dependent on location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To leverage the power of AI to elevate humans and supercharge work, moving business forever forward.
Role
Who you are
- A successful candidate will be proactive, solutions-oriented, and able to creatively resolve issues to help accelerate deal closure while appropriately managing risk
- Juris Doctor degree and active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
- 10+ years of experience drafting and negotiating contracts in a corporate environment
- Direct experience independently drafting and negotiating complex SaaS/technology agreements both on the Inbound and Outbound side, particularly with commercial (sales and procurement)
- Deep experience negotiating Privacy and AI terms
- Sales, customer, and procurement experience
- Prior financial services and/or healthcare inbound or outbound transactions experience
- Commercial Expertise: Skilled in drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements including SaaS Agreements, Data Protection, AI Addendum, and Service Level Agreements, as well as complex vendor subscription/technology agreements and subprocessor/Embed Reseller Agreements. Able to reach mutually beneficial outcomes through open dialogue and convey complex legal concepts clearly to both legal and non-legal audiences. Experience with data privacy rules and contracts
- Business Acumen: Applies keen business judgment to align legal strategy with Workday's broader goals. Skilled at building internal and external relationships while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams (sales, services, product, finance, procurement)
- Risk Analysis & Project Management: Proficient in analyzing risk and developing solutions that protect the business while enabling growth
- Manages legal projects with discipline to keep complex matters on track
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Direct experience using a Contract Management System (e.g., Salesforce, Apttus, Conga) and electronic signature software (e.g., AdobeSign, DocuSign)
- Analytical Thinking: Demonstrates strong analytical skills by breaking down complex information into actionable guidance, identifying transaction patterns, and applying process improvement principles to drive efficiencies in legal workflows
- Ability to work independently, take initiative, and thrive in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment
What the job involves
- The Global Legal Services team delivers world class legal shared services to Workday’s Legal and Sales teams in a wide variety of transactional and in-depth work
- This worldwide team is composed of legal professionals who handle work across Workday’s customers, vendors, and internal partners
- The team is asked to manage a large volume of deals and opportunities; as well as interact with several cross functional teams, and it operates at scale through efficiency, speed, and skills
- As a Senior Legal Counsel at Workday, you will play a crucial role in managing the full contract lifecycle for a fast-growing, innovative company
- You will directly support the outbound and inbound segments of the business. Support both outbound customer-facing transactions and inbound procurement/vendor transactions, including SaaS agreements, DPEs, AI addenda, vendor agreements, partner agreements, and related amendments
- This position demands critical thinking, high integrity, and strong operational management. You will be directly responsible for negotiating, drafting, and managing a wide array of agreements that establish complex business relationships with customers, vendors, and partners
- This involves collaborating closely with Sales, Procurement, Deals Operations, and other Legal teams to structure agreements and ensure all contracts comply with company models, guidelines, and other applicable legal requirements
- Success requires a proactive approach, excellent communication skills, exceptional attention to detail, adaptability in a changing business environment, and the ability to work independently while managing multiple, competing, and sensitive priorities
- Lead the negotiation of proposed contract modifications by customers, prospects, vendors, and partners working directly with sales, procurement, and internal stakeholders; securing necessary internal and external approvals
- Draft, review, and revise contracts, addenda, including amendments, to address specific business requirements and legal concerns as they arise
- Act as a primary liaison for the Legal department, providing cross-functional teams with clear guidance on common edits, non-standard terms, policies, and contract-related questions
- Join calls with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders
- Privacy and AI knowledge-Advise on privacy, data protection, and AI technology issues in commercial transactions, including negotiation of data processing agreement terms, AI addenda, subprocessors, security terms, and related risk allocations
- Help implement legal efficiencies through the negotiation cycle and continuously improve the contracts management system and associated operational processes
- Maintain and enhance critical processes and collaboration points between the Legal department and other internal business groups
- Execute assigned projects as determined by the evolving needs of the business and the Legal department
- Identify and implement process improvements, playbooks, templates, and workflow enhancements that increase contracting speed, consistency, and scalability
Application process
- End Date: October 9, 2026
Our take
Workday is a cloud-based software vendor that provides management of workforces and finances. The company uses a single database for workforce management and financial management to offer integration and optimize business intelligence across companies. It has added to the packages and tools it offers over the years, providing analytic options that allow companies to combine third-party data with information collected by Workday.
The company has also grown through acquisitions and partnerships to broaden its capabilities. Most recently, in 2025 it purchases Sana, an AI-driven enterprise knowledge and learning platform, to create a "new front door for work". This acquisition allows Workday to integrate Sana's AI-powered search, agents, and learning capabilities with its own data and workflows, allowing employees to access information, automate tasks, and complete their day entirely within Workday.
Through a combination of strategic acquisitions and in-house development, Workday has built a comprehensive suite of HR, financial, and enterprise tools. By focusing on innovation and AI-driven workflows, the company continues to push productivity and decision-making for organizations worldwide. Building on this track record, Workday is very much positioned for even more growth, reinforcing its status as a leader in shaping the future of work.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
16% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Oct 2011
$85m
SERIES F
Apr 2009
$75m
SERIES E
Total funding: $215.3m
Company HQ
Pleasanton, CA
Leadership
Aneel Bhusri
(Co-Founder & CEO)Annel began their career at Morgan Stanley as a Corporate Finance Analyst. They then spent nearly 6 years at PeopleSoft as a Senior VP before co-founding Workday in 2005.
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