Workday Product and Configuration Lead
American Electric Power
Columbus, OK · posted Nov 4, 2026
What this posting says about education
“Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, information systems, computer science or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.”
The posting
Job Posting End Date
11-18-2026Please note the job posting will close on the day before the posting end date.
Job Summary
Serves as AEP’s senior functional expert and solution designer for Workday Human Capital Management. This role combines deep knowledge of HR with broad Workday configuration expertise to design solutions that are effective for users, scalable for the organization and sustainable for the support team. The role does not simply take requirements and configure them. It works alongside HR partners to understand the underlying need, discuss options and trade-offs, and determine whether the best answer is a Workday configuration, a process change or a combination of both.Provides technical and functional leadership across the Workday HCM ecosystem, with depth in one or more of the following: Core HCM, Compensation, Advanced Compensation, Recruiting, Time Tracking, Payroll, Learning, Talent, Workday Help and reporting. Maintains working knowledge of the broader Workday platform and partners with functional subject matter experts to evaluate requirements, assess impacts, and develop solutions that align with enterprise standards and business objectives. Partners closely with our knowledgeable HR Information Systems Manager to guide solution design, releases, support and continuous improvement, while mentoring less-experienced team members and building the team’s overall Workday capability.
Job Description
What You'll Do:
- Serve as the senior functional and configuration lead for Workday HCM, providing hands-on expertise across several Workday modules, such as Core HCM, Compensation, Advanced Compensation, Recruiting, Time Tracking, Payroll, Learning, Talent, Workday Help and reporting.
- Partner with HR process owners, subject matter experts, employees, managers and other stakeholders to understand the business problem, user experience and desired outcome before recommending a solution.
- Facilitate collaborative design discussions that explain available options, trade-offs, risks and downstream impacts so the business and HRIS team share ownership of the selected solution.
- Translate business requirements into scalable Workday configurations, including business processes, condition rules, validations, notifications, security considerations, calculated fields, reports and related functional setup.
- Challenge requirements constructively when a process change, simplification or use of delivered Workday functionality would create a more sustainable result.
- Negotiate scope and design decisions when requests conflict with platform standards, control requirements, user experience, supportability or enterprise priorities.
- Put the user at the center of configuration decisions by understanding how employees, managers, HR professionals and administrators will experience and use the solution.
- Lead complex solution design, configuration, prototyping, testing, deployment and post-production evaluation for enhancements, releases and projects.
- Assess the end-to-end impact of proposed changes across HR processes, security, integrations, reporting, payroll, finance, data, controls and downstream systems.
- Provide senior-level troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for complex production issues, developing solutions that address the underlying cause rather than only the immediate symptom.
- Lead Workday release review and feature evaluation, recommend adoption decisions, coordinate impact assessments and support testing and implementation planning.
- Serve as a trusted advisor on Workday capabilities and recommend opportunities to simplify processes, improve the employee and manager experience, strengthen controls and increase automation.
- Develop and maintain reports, calculated fields and operational analytics needed to support functional areas and validate system performance.
- Create and maintain design documentation, configuration standards, decision records, testing evidence and support materials that improve sustainability and knowledge continuity.
- Partner closely with the HR Information Systems Manager to organize work, guide the team, review designs, resolve escalated issues and maintain consistent solution standards.
- Mentor and coach less-experienced HRIS team members through design reviews, paired configuration, troubleshooting and knowledge sharing; provide functional leadership without direct people-management responsibility.
- Continuously expand expertise by studying Workday releases, product documentation, community content, training and emerging practices, then applying and sharing relevant learning across the team.
- Protect HR data and ensure configurations comply with applicable privacy, security, records-management, audit and company requirements.
What We're Looking For:
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, information systems, computer science or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Experience:
- Seven years of progressively responsible HRIS, Workday or HR technology experience.
- At least five years of hands-on Workday HCM configuration and application support experience.
- Experience must include leading complex solution design and partnering directly with HR or business stakeholders.
Other Must Haves:
- Demonstrated Workday functional and configuration expertise across multiple HCM areas, with the ability to understand how configuration decisions affect the broader platform.
- Strong knowledge of HR processes and data, with the ability and motivation to continue learning unfamiliar functional areas.
- Experience designing and configuring Workday business processes, condition rules, validations, notifications, calculated fields, reports and related functional components.
- Ability to move fluently between business process, user experience and system design considerations and explain the implications of each.
- Consultative communication skills, including discovery, facilitation, negotiation, expectation setting and the ability to challenge a request constructively.
- Demonstrated curiosity, initiative and self-directed learning, with a record of independently building expertise and applying new knowledge.
- Strong analytical thinking, troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills for complex cross-functional issues.
- Ability to lead through influence, mentor peers and establish credibility with technical teams, HR professionals and business leaders.
- Ability to manage competing priorities while maintaining design quality, documentation and follow-through.
- High standards for data accuracy, system controls, confidentiality and sustainable solution design.
Preferred Qualifications
- Deep configuration experience in several of the following: Core HCM, Compensation, Advanced Compensation, Recruiting, Time Tracking, Payroll, Learning, Talent and Workday Help.
- Workday Pro accreditation or Workday certification in one or more HCM functional areas.
- Experience with Workday release management, feature adoption, tenant management, regression testing and production support.
- Experience with Workday reporting, calculated fields, dashboards and report design.
- Working knowledge of Workday security, integrations, EIBs, data conversion and downstream impact analysis.
- Experience supporting a large, complex or regulated organization with cross-functional HR, payroll, finance, compliance and technology dependencies.
- Experience leading design authorities, configuration reviews, communities of practice or similar mechanisms that improve solution consistency and team capability.
What Success Looks Like
- HR partners view this role as a trusted advisor who understands both their work and the Workday platform.
- Solutions begin with a clear understanding of the problem and are designed jointly with the people who will own and use them.
- Configuration decisions balance user experience, business value, controls, platform standards and long-term supportability.
- The team resolves complex Workday issues faster and is less dependent on the HR Information Systems Manager for every advanced decision.
- Less-experienced team members build confidence and capability through consistent mentoring, design review and knowledge transfer.
- AEP makes better use of delivered Workday functionality and adopts valuable new capabilities thoughtfully.
- Documentation, testing and configuration standards improve the stability, consistency and maintainability of the Workday environment.
- The role continually broadens its own expertise and raises the functional and technical capability of the entire HRIS team.
Where You'll Work:
- On-Site in the AEP Headquarters in Columbus, OH or Tulsa, OK.
What You'll Get:
- Base salary
- Annual bonus
- 401K match
- AEP Pension
- Comprehensive benefits package that aims to support and enhance the overall well-being of our employees.
Where Putting the Customer First Powers Everything We Do!
At AEP, we’re more than just an energy company — we’re a team of dedicated professionals committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions. Guided by our mission to put the customer first, we strive to exceed expectations by listening, responding, and continuously improving the way we serve our communities. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact and being part of a forward-thinking organization, this is the company for you!
#LI-ONSITE
#AEPCareers
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Compensation Data
Compensation Grade:
SP20-009Compensation Range:
$116,255.00 - $151,132.50The Physical Demand Level for this job is: S – Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally (Occasionally: activity or condition exists up to 1/3 of the time) and/or a negligible amount of force frequently. (Frequently: activity or condition exists from 1/3 to 2/3 of the time) to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally, and all other sedentary criteria are met.
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It is hereby reaffirmed that it is the policy of American Electric Power (AEP) to provide Equal Employment Opportunity in all respects of the employer-employee relationship including recruiting, hiring, upgrading and promotion, conditions and privileges of employment, company sponsored training programs, educational assistance, social and recreational programs, compensation, benefits, transfers, discipline, layoffs and termination of employment to all employees and applicants without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, veteran or military status, disability, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. When required by law, we might record certain information or applicants for employment may be invited to voluntarily disclose protected characteristics.Reproduced from American Electric Power’s own posting, with formatting simplified and links removed. Read it in full on their site before applying.