What makes Cognizant a unique place to work? The combination of rapid growth and a unique place international and innovative environment! This is creating many opportunities for people like YOU — people with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to make a difference in this world.
At Cognizant, together with your colleagues from all around the world, you will collaborate on creating solutions for the world's leading companies and help them become more flexible, more innovative, and successful. Moreover, this is your chance to be part of the success story.
Position Summary:
As a Workday Payroll, Time Tracking & Absence Principal Consultant, you will serve as a trusted advisor and lead functional consultant responsible for delivering enterprise-scale Workday solutions for global customers. Acting as the bridge between business and technical teams, you will lead customers through the full implementation lifecycle including discovery, design, configuration, testing, deployment, and post-production support. You will play a key role in shaping scalable and commercially viable Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence solutions aligned with customer business needs. The role also involves leading project workstreams, mentoring junior consultants, supporting pre-sales activities, and contributing to continuous improvement within the consulting practice.
Mandatory Skills:
•3–4+ years of Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence implementation experience
•Minimum 2 years of recent hands-on configuration experience in Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence
•Certified in Workday US and AUS Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence
•Strong functional and configuration expertise in Workday Payroll processing, Time Tracking, Absence, and related HCM modules
•Experience in enterprise-scale Workday implementations and leading functional workstreams
•Strong understanding of payroll integrations, payroll processing, workforce management, and compliance requirements
•Expertise in business process configuration, security setup, iLoads, tenant migration, and data conversion
•Experience integrating Workday with payroll providers, HR systems, and third-party applications
•Excellent stakeholder management and customer engagement skills with the ability to manage expectations effectively
•Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple priorities, and meet project deadlines
•Commercial awareness and understanding of project delivery within a consulting/services organization
•Strong communication skills with experience presenting to senior client stakeholders
•Mentoring and leadership capability to support and guide junior consultants
•Broad understanding of HR, Payroll, ERP, Financials, and SaaS industry trends and business processes
Duties and Responsibilities:
•Lead the implementation and configuration of Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence solutions for enterprise customers
•Conduct discovery sessions, workshops, and requirements gathering with stakeholders
•Recommend and design best-practice solutions aligned to customer business objectives, compliance, and operational needs
•Configure Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, Absence, business processes, security roles, and integrations
•Perform testing activities including unit testing, SIT, UAT, payroll validation, and parallel payroll testing
•Support data migration, iLoads, data mapping, and tenant-to-tenant migrations
•Collaborate with integration teams to deliver seamless payroll and third-party system integrations
•Provide strategic guidance and maintain strong customer relationships throughout implementation and support phases
•Monitor project progress, identify risks/issues, and communicate updates to project leadership and customers
•Support post-go-live activities and Application Management Services while meeting Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
•Mentor junior consultants and contribute to capability development, knowledge sharing, and practice improvements
•Support pre-sales activities including solution planning, estimations, and proposal development
•Participate in utilization forecasting, resource planning, recruitment, and performance management activities where applicable
•Stay current with Workday product updates, payroll regulations, and industry best practices
•Travel to customer locations as required for project delivery and stakeholder engagement
Qualifications & Certifications (Optional):
•Bachelor’s degree in IT, Human Resources, HRIS, Information Systems, Business, Finance, Payroll, or related field
•Mandatory Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence Certification(s)
•Additional Workday HCM or related module certifications are highly desirable
•2–5 years of experience in Payroll, HRIS, ERP, Financials, or SaaS implementation environments
•Experience with Workday Your Way, Launch, or Launch Express methodologies is desirable
•Professional certifications in Payroll, HRIS, ERP, or Consulting disciplines are desirable
Salary Range:>$100,000
Date of Posting: 15-May-26
Next Steps: If you feel this opportunity suits you, or Cognizant is the type of organization you would like to join, we want to have a conversation with you! Please apply directly with us.
For a complete list of open opportunities with Cognizant, visit http://www.cognizant.com/careers. Cognizant is committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunities. Successful candidates will be required to undergo a background check.
What we offer
- The chance to work with impact. Here, you’re empowered to bring your biggest thinking to help our company and clients improve everyday life.
- Ownership over your career. Stay at the top of your game through our award-winning learning and development ecosystem. And when your ambitions change or we offer new opportunities, we help you pivot by providing reskilling, on-the-job learning and guidance to find new roles that might be a better fit.
- The opportunity to thrive on a high caliber team with heart. We celebrate each other’s experiences and perspectives and promote a sense of belonging through our affinity groups and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
- A comprehensive total rewards package, including a competitive salary and a pension plan with matching contributions.
- Flexible health and financial benefits to support you and your eligible dependents—from day one.
- True work-life balance. Be at your best through paid time off, flexible work arrangements, volunteering opportunities, social events, and so much more.
About us
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.
Other employment-related information
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] with your request and contact information.
Language requirements vary depending on roles, but we ask that all candidates have basic English proficiency for company-wide communications purposes. For roles based in Quebec, professional English proficiency is required, as you’ll deliver services to and collaborate with stakeholders outside the province who may not speak French.
