(USA) Principal, Data Scientist

Position Summary...

What you'll do...

Role summary:
As a Principal Data Scientist at Walmart, you will lead the development and deployment of advanced analytical models and machine learning solutions to address complex business challenges. This role requires deep expertise in statistical analysis, coding, and data strategy to translate business needs into scalable, data-driven insights. You will guide cross-functional teams, mentor associates, and collaborate with stakeholders to drive impactful outcomes. Your work will support Walmart’s commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and delivering measurable value through cutting-edge data science methodologies and technologies.
About the team:
Our team collaborates closely with Walmart U.S. stores and eCommerce to enhance customer experience through technological innovation. We empower team members, stores, and merchants by developing advanced solutions across groceries, entertainment, sporting goods, and crafts. Our focus areas include customer engagement, in-store service, merchant tools, data science, and personalized search. Leveraging expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics, we drive impactful initiatives that support Walmart’s commitment to delivering value and convenience across multiple shopping platforms, including Walmart.com, mobile apps, and physical stores.
What you'll do:

• Lead a team of applied scientists in developing innovative AI-driven solutions.
• Build and ship GenAI applications using the latest agentic frameworks to automate merchant and operator workflows and unlock significant time savings.
• Design and deploy models and agents that automatically investigate anomalies across merchandising, supply chain, and store operations surfacing the "why" behind business signals.
• Research and integrate state-of-the-art techniques across LLMs, agents, retrieval, and classical ML; mentor scientists and engineers and set the technical bar for the team.
• Partner cross-functionally with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to translate ambiguous problems into well-scoped, high-impact AI solutions.

What you'll bring:

• 7+ years of Applied Scientist / MLE experience with a strong track record of shipping ML models to production in high-scale environments, ideally across multiple domains (pricing, forecasting, supply chain, ops).
• Deep core ML/AI fundamentals (supervised, deep learning, time-series, causal/RCA) combined with heavy hands-on GenAI experience LLMs, fine-tuning, evaluations, agent orchestration.
• Strong MLE and software engineering chops, production-grade Python, distributed systems, ML pipelines, CI/CD for ML, and model monitoring.
• Experience with large-scale data systems (Spark/Hive) and cloud platforms (GCP / Azure).
• Proven leadership in mentoring teams and guiding technical development aligned with business objectives.

At Walmart, we offer competitive pay as well as performance-based bonus awards and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet. Health benefits include medical, vision and dental coverage. Financial benefits include 401(k), stock purchase and company-paid life insurance. Paid time off benefits include PTO (including sick leave), parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more. You will also receive PTO and/or PPTO that can be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes. The amount you receive depends on your job classification and length of employment. It will meet or exceed the requirements of paid sick leave laws, where applicable. For information about PTO, see https://one.walmart.com/notices. Live Better U is a Walmart-paid education benefit program for full-time and part-time associates in Walmart and Sam's Club facilities. Programs range from high school completion to bachelor's degrees, including English Language Learning and short-form certificates. Tuition, books, and fees are completely paid for by Walmart.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to a specific plan or program terms.
For information about benefits and eligibility, see One.Walmart.
Sunnyvale, California US-11656: The annual salary range for this position is $143,000.00 - $286,000.00
Bellevue, Washington US-11663: The annual salary range for this position is $132,000.00 - $264,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include :
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Minimum Qualifications...

Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum qualifications.

Option 1: Bachelors degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 5 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 2: Masters degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 3 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 3: 7 years' experience in an analytics or related field

Preferred Qualifications...

Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications.

Data science, machine learning, optimization models, PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics, Publications or active peer reviewer in related journals or conference, Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R, Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch), We value candidates with a background in creating inclusive digital experiences, demonstrating knowledge in implementing Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standards, assistive technologies, and integrating digital accessibility seamlessly. The ideal candidate would have knowledge of accessibility best practices and join us as we continue to create accessible products and services following Walmart’s accessibility standards and guidelines for supporting an inclusive culture.

Primary Location...

1375 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1114, United States of America

Walmart and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and has a no tolerance policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol on the job. This policy applies to all employees and aims to create a safe and productive work environment.