A load-balancing computing device receives a load-balance request for a processing of a workload request associated with a workload. The load-balancing computing device selects a member node of a distributed computing system to process the workload request. The member node is selected from amongst a pool of member nodes of the distributed computing system. The selecting includes: determining a member node for a baseline assignment for the workload; and selecting a member node based on an outcome of a mathematical operation performed on an identifier of the workload, the baseline cardinality of member nodes, and on the cardinality of member nodes in the pool. Next, the processing of the workload request is assigned to the selected member node.