Staff Product Analyst (Workday Payroll, Absence & Time Tracking)

Okta is seeking a Staff Product Analyst (Workday Payroll, Absence & Time Tracking) to join our People Technology Team. This is a pivotal role dedicated to the functional optimization of Okta's global Workday platform across Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking. You will lead the end-to-end lifecycle of these programs, from strategic discovery and design to global deployment and adoption. You will act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders across People, Payroll, IT, and Finance, ensuring our People Technology suite drives automation, accuracy, and efficiency. If you are passionate about improving the employee experience through thoughtful Workday design, you'll fit right in.

What you’ll be doing

• Product Strategy and Roadmap: Collaborate on the product vision and multi-year roadmap for Workday Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking, ensuring alignment with global People Technology and Finance team objectives.

• Stakeholder Partnership: Act as a strategic partner to People, Payroll, and Finance leadership, translating complex business needs into clear functional requirements and configuration designs.

• Functional Configuration and Design: Lead the design and configuration of Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking business processes, calculations, eligibility rules, and pay components that prioritize employee experience and operational efficiency.

• Lifecycle Management: Manage the full lifecycle of payroll, absence, and time tracking configuration, from initial discovery and requirements gathering through testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.

• Data-Driven Insights: Leverage Workday reporting and analytics to monitor process performance, identify trends, and deliver actionable recommendations for payroll, absence, and time tracking optimization.

• Vendor and Platform Management: Oversee relationships with third-party vendors (e.g., ADP) to ensure seamless data flows and adherence to service level agreements.

• Operational Excellence: Champion continuous improvement by analyzing process and configuration issues, leading testing efforts, and proposing changes that enhance accuracy and reduce manual intervention.

• Feature Adoption and Training: Drive end-user adoption of new Workday features through comprehensive documentation, user guides, and training programs.

• Compliance and Security: Ensure all payroll, absence, and time tracking configurations strictly adhere to global data privacy requirements and internal security standards.

What you’ll bring to the role

• Workday Expertise: 7+ years configuring Workday Payroll, Absence, and/or Time Tracking, including business process design, calculated fields, and eligibility rules.

• Payroll, Absence, and Time Tracking Domain Knowledge: Deep functional expertise in Workday Payroll (GL, pay components, taxes), Absence, and Time Tracking configuration, along with global HR business processes.

• Testing and Quality: Proven experience leading tenant configuration testing, including UAT and regression testing, to ensure accurate, reliable releases.

• Analytical Skills: Advanced capability in building custom reports, dashboards, and hubs to drive data-informed decision-making.

• Strategic Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and collaborate effectively across global time zones.

• Problem Solving: Superior ability to troubleshoot complex functional issues and design scalable configuration solutions in a fast-paced environment.

• Agile Methodology: Experience working in an Agile environment, managing backlogs, and delivering value through iterative cycles.

And extra credit if you have experience in any of the following!

• Experience with Workday integrations (e.g., PECI, PICOF, Studio) or Workday Extend is a plus.

• Workday Certification in Payroll, Absence, or Time Tracking.

Additional requirements:

• U.S. soil status - the employee must be on U.S. soil, which means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or outlying areas of the United States, as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101, and be a U.S. person.

• U.S. person status - the employee must be either a U.S. citizen as defined in 42 U.S. Code § 9102; a natural person who is a lawful permanent resident as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or who is a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3); or a U.S. national (i.e. includes citizens and non-citizens born in outlying possessions such as American Samoa and Swains Island), green card holders, refugees, and asylees. Working on a U.S. visa does NOT qualify as a U.S. person.

The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay area is between: $148,000—$203,500 USD

Below is the annual base salary range for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York and Washington. Your actual base salary will depend on factors such as your skills, qualifications, experience, and work location. In addition, Okta offers equity (where applicable), bonus, and benefits, including health, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), flexible spending account, and paid leave (including PTO and parental leave) in accordance with our applicable plans and policies. To learn more about our Total Rewards program please visit: https://rewards.okta.com/us.

The annual base salary range for this position for candidates located in California (excluding San Francisco Bay Area), Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Washington is between:$132,000—$181,500 USD