Principal Workday Analyst

The driving force behind our success has always been the people of AspenTech. What drives us, is our aspiration, our desire and ambition to keep pushing the envelope, overcoming any hurdle, challenging the status quo to continually find a better way. You will experience these qualities of passion, pride and aspiration in many ways — from a rich set of career development programs to support of community service projects to social events that foster fun and relationship building across our global community.

The Role

Aspen Technology, Inc. (an Emerson Company) is seeking an experienced Principal Workday Analyst to join the Business Applications team. Reporting to the Director, Business Applications, this role is responsible for the overall operational health, stability, and continuous improvement of the Workday platform. The position acts as a strategic bridge between HR, IT, business stakeholders, and Workday technical support, ensuring scalable, compliant, and high-performing HR solutions.

This role is based in Pune, India, and supports a highly distributed, global organization including managing Sr. Workday Analysts and leading Workday IT team.

Your Impact

• Lead end-to-end operational management of the Workday platform, including Core HCM, Benefits, Absence, Time Tracking, Talent, Recruiting, Payroll, and Integrations.
• Ensure platform stability, performance, and reliability across a global, 24x7 operating model.
• Monitor Workday integrations daily and weekly; proactively identify failures, troubleshoot issues, and coordinate resolution of data discrepancies.
• Own Workday-related service desk and ticket-based support, including intake, triage, prioritization, investigation, resolution, and stakeholder communication.
• Act as the primary escalation point for complex or high-impact Workday incidents and defects.
• Ensure adherence to ITSM processes (Incident, Problem, Change, and Request Management) and SLA commitments.
• Drive root cause analysis for recurring issues and implement long-term corrective actions.
• Maintain knowledge articles, runbooks, and standard operating procedures to improve first-contact resolution and reduce ticket volume.
• Support release management by coordinating change tickets, regression testing, and post-deployment validation.
• Design, configure, and optimize Workday business processes and workflows aligned with best practices.
• Design, develop, and maintain Workday security architecture, including domains, roles, role-based access, and security reporting.
• Build, support, and troubleshoot integrations using EIBs, Core Connectors, and Workday Studio.
• Develop advanced reports and complex calculated fields to support business and compliance needs.
• Translate business requirements into scalable, technical Workday solutions.
• Guide business leaders through system enhancements, platform upgrades, and process transformation initiatives.
• Partner with audit and compliance teams to support SOX and regulatory requirements, including evidence collection and remediation.
• Provide technical and functional leadership across project and operational initiatives.
• Lead, mentor, and develop junior Workday team members, promoting best practices and operational excellence.
• Operate effectively in a distributed, global team environment, balancing multiple priorities and initiatives across HR, IT, Finance and other global functions
• Engage with senior leadership and diverse stakeholder groups to understand priorities and recommend scalable, compliant solutions.

What You'll Need

• Bachelor’s degree in information systems, Management Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in a related role, with demonstrated progression in scope and responsibility.
• 5+ years of hands-on Workday experience with deep expertise in Core HCM, Time Tracking, Absence, Benefits, Integrations, Recruiting, Payroll, Security and Talent.
• Experience in managing a small team of Workday Analyst and operating 24x7 platforms operations for global organization
• Experience with Advanced Compensation, Core Compensation, or Performance Management preferred.
• Strong understanding of HR processes, country-specific compliance requirements, audit controls, ERP integrations, data privacy, and GDPR.
• Demonstrated leadership experience guiding Workday teams and collaborating effectively with business analysts and functional stakeholders.
• Experience delivering cross-functional integrations and enterprise-scale solutions.
• Proven success operating in fast-paced, global environments with complex operational needs.
• Strong organizational, analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Maintain clear documentation, knowledge articles, and standard operating procedures to improve first-contact resolution and reduce ticket volume.
• Advanced business process framework configuration and security administration.
• Expertise in Advanced Reporting and complex calculated fields.
• Strong integration development and troubleshooting skills, including Workday Studio and EIBs.
• Experience supporting SOX and audit compliance initiatives.
• Solid business acumen with the ability to think strategically and execute tactically.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to manage multiple initiatives concurrently.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Curiosity and willingness to learn, experiment, and adopt new technologies in an agile environment to improve platform scalability, resilience, and reliability.