(USA) Principal, Data Scientist

Position Summary

What you'll do...We are at the forefront of solving one of the most challenging and impactful problems in e-commerce: empowering customers to discover high-quality, price-competitive products that meet their unique needs. Whether a customer is typing in a query, browsing through product categories on a website, or interacting via voice or image, our service springs into action. We analyze billions of search queries and tens of millions of products to identify the most relevant, high-value options for our customers. As a key member of our team, you will take end-to-end ownership of building cutting-edge systems that drive product discovery. This includes analyzing massive datasets, designing complex machine learning models, improving their accuracy and performance, and deploying these solutions to deliver an optimized shopping experience for millions of customers. You'll have the opportunity to tackle fascinating and high-impact problems in machine learning, information retrieval, natural language processing (NLP), and computer vision. Your work will directly influence how customers navigate the website, find the best products, and make purchase decisions with confidence.

About Team

Our team works closely with our US stores and eCommerce business to better serve customers by empowering team members, stores, and merchants with technological innovation. From groceries and entertainment to sporting goods and crafts, Walmart U.S. offers an extensive selection that our customers value, whether they shop online at Walmart.com, through one of our mobile apps, or in-store. Focus areas include customers, stores and employees, in-store service, merchant tools, merchant data science, and search and personalization.

Responsibilities

• Applying machine learning ranking algorithms to maximize the relevance of search system and minimize risks.
• Building, validating, testing and deploying predictive models using machine learning techniques to explain or predict behavior and solve a variety of business and engineering problems.
• Identifying, collecting, and exploring the right data used for predictive modeling and algorithm development.
• Performing and leading developments using machine learning techniques in one or more of the key areas like natural language processing, computer vision, information retrieval, entity recognition, product classification, and recommender system.

Requirements (What you'll bring)

• You have 7+ years of work and research experience in the machine learning field with a deep understanding of machine learning and interest in applying it at scale.
• You have experience with data cleaning, preparation, and featurization and selection techniques.
• You have experience working with large data sets to solve problems.
• You have experience with deep learning library like TensorFlow and/or PyTorch is highly desirable as well as experience with Spark and/or Hadoop.
• You have/had hands-on experience with Python, Java or Scala and the ability to write reusable and efficient code to automate machine learning pipeline and data processes.
• You have effective communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• You have the ability to handle multiple concurrent projects while working independently and in teams.
• You can work in a fast-paced and deadline driven environment.
• Ph.D. or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Artificial Intelligence, Operations Research, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, Computational Linguistics or related field.

About Walmart Global Tech

Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That’s what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We’re a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity expert's and service professionals within the world’s leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations. We are people-led and tech-empowered. We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail. Walmart’s culture is a competitive advantage, and it’s fostered by being together. Working together in person allows us to collaborate, align quickly and innovate with greater speed. We use our campuses to create purposeful connection rooted in deepening understanding and investing in the development of our associates.

Benefits

• Incentive awards for performance
• 401(k) match
• Stock purchase plan
• Paid maternity and parental leave
• PTO (including sick leave)
• Multiple health plans (medical, vision, dental)
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Company discounts
• Military Leave Pay
• Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
• Live Better U education benefit program (covers tuition, books, fees)
• Additional benefits may include stock, performance bonuses, and other perks

Equal Opportunity Employer

Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer – By Choice. We believe we are best equipped to help our associates, customers, and the communities we serve live better when we really know them. That means understanding, respecting, and valuing unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas, and opinions – while being inclusive of all people.

Compensation

• Bentonville, Arkansas (US-30094): $110,000.00 – $220,000.00 annual salary range
• Sunnyvale, California (US-11349): $143,000.00 – $286,000.00 annual salary range
• Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses and may include stock.

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)
• Background in creating inclusive digital experiences, knowledge of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standards, assistive technologies, and integrating digital accessibility seamlessly. Candidates should have knowledge of accessibility best practices and be prepared to create accessible products and services following Walmart’s accessibility standards and guidelines.

Primary Location

800 Se J St, Bentonville, AR 72712-0000, United States of America

Drug‑Free Workplace Policy

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.