Technical Lead, Application Development (Workday)

VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass.

Versant is seekingaTechnicalLead, Core HR Systemsto lead the design, development, deployment, and ongoing support of key components of Versant’scoreHR ecosystem, centered on Workday. This role plays a critical hands-onlead DevOpsposition in delivering reliable, scalable solutions that support Versant’sworkforce with deliveringSaaSand customsolutions.

You will build and lead high-performing teamsofengineersand solutionleadsresponsible forplatformarchitecture,delivery,integrations, and operational excellence.You will partner closely with stakeholders acrossPayroll, HR,Time,Broadcast and Sports Operations,Product, Data & Analytics, andEnterpriseTechnology to ensureHR & Payrollsolutions are well-architected, secure, and aligned to business priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Strategy & Architecture

• Contribute to the definition and execution ofCoreHR & Payrollplatform standards, patterns, androadmapsacrossHR,Payroll, Time, & Broadcast & Sports Operations

• Design and implement scalable, securecustom andSaaSsolutions that meet defined business and technical requirements

• Ensure solutions align with architecture standards and integrate cleanly with upstream and downstream systems

• Evaluate and implementnewtechnologycapabilities (automation, AI features, data unification, packagedSaaSsolutions) in support of product and business needs

• Collaborate with architecture, product, and data teams to ensure consistency and reusability across platforms

Delivery & Operations Excellence

• Lead end-to-end delivery forCoreHR & Payrollinitiatives, from technical design through build, test, deployment, and post-go-live support

• Oversee technical delivery,release planning,and environment management to ensure stability and predictable releases

• Enforce best practices in DevOps, code quality, documentation, and automated testing

• Partner with integration, data, and infrastructure teams to ensure reliable interoperability and data flows

• Monitor platform performance and operational health, driving root-cause resolution and continuous improvement

Partner & Team Leadership

• Serve a critical role as the Development Lead for Versant’s planned transformation of their key HR & Payroll Systems

• Build and lead a blended organization of internal engineers, architects, and contracted delivery partnersboth on and offshore

• Serve asanaccountable leader for contracted and managed service partners, ensuring delivery quality, cost effectiveness, and strategic alignment

• Define clear scopes of work, service-level expectations, and governance processes with delivery partners

• Foster a culture of collaboration, ownership, and learning-balancing partner execution with internalengineering capability

• Mentor and develop team members, driving engagement, accountability, and professional development

• Assistwith managingbudgets and resource plans, ensuringoptimalallocation across initiatives

Governance, Security & Stakeholder Alignment

• EnsureHR & Payrollsolutionscomply withcorporate security, privacy, and regulatory requirements

• Adhere toestablishedgovernance processes including change management, version control, and documentation

• Partner with Legal, Privacy, and Security teams to support secure handling of customer and business data

• Provide regular status updates on delivery progress, risks, and operational health to technology and business stakeholders

• Act as a trusted technical advisor forHR and Payrollengineering within cross-functional

Basic Requirements

• 6+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least3years leadingmedium to largeengineering delivery teams(both on and offshore)

• 4+ Year of in-depth experiencewas a Workday developerwith at least one full implementation cycle of WorkdayHMCwhile serving in a seniorleaddeveloper capacity

• Strong hands-on experience withWorkday Studio, Enterprise Interface Builder (EIB), Core Connectors, and Workday APIsleveragingmodernauthentication protocols

• Experience architecting, developing, and deploying custom solutions with the Workday Extend and/or the Workday Build Ecosystem

Strong hands-on experience designing and implementingdata ingestion pipelines into Workday Prism for advanced analytics,reporting, and integrations.

• Experience with Workday Job Scheduling tools and managing a large array of integrations

• Experience configuring Workday’s portal self-service experience including role-based landing pages, worklets, announcements, quick actions, and business processes.

• Proven experience delivering complexenterprise applicationsimplementations with multiple integrationsto multipleSaaSplatforms.

• Strong experience delivering HR & Payroll solutions, especially withintegrating HR Data and Benefits

• Experience leading agileteams and working within CI/CD and DevOps delivery models

• Strong communicationskills with the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Excellent communication, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field

Desired Characteristics

• Experience in media, entertainment, or consumer-facing digital businesses

• Experience deliveringHR & Payrollsolutionswith SAP & SuccessFactors

• Experience with API Management solutions(MuleSoft, Apigee, Kong) and applying an API firstmethodologyto integration

• Familiarity with good UI/UX design principles as well as industry accessibility standards(WCAG)

• Familiarity with cloud platforms (Azure, Salesforce,AWS, GCP)

• Experience building custom web applications with React/JAVA

• Familiarity with Workday Canvas Kit

• Interest in modernizingcustomandSaaSplatforms and improving developer productivity

Additional Information

Location:New York City, NYorEnglewood Cliffs, NJ- (Hybrid – 3 days onsite)

Employees based in our Englewood Cliffs office have access to a variety of convenient on-site services and amenities, including free employee parking, complimentary electric vehicle charging stations, an on-site fitness center with locker rooms and towel service, and dry-cleaning drop-off and pick-up.

To support an easier commute, shuttle service is also available to and from the Englewood Cliffs campus, with pickup locations across Manhattan’s East Side and West Side, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, and Secaucus.

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to .

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.