(USA) Senior, Data Scientist at Walmart Sunnyvale, CA

Position Summary

We are seeking a Senior Data Scientist to join our science team and lead the development of state‑of‑the‑art models that power Product Search across Walmart’s multiple international markets. Our mission is to provide customers with the most delightful user experience throughout their online shopping journey.

What you will do

• Lead and collaborate with data scientists, engineers, and product managers to architect, design, train, and deploy end‑to‑end machine learning solutions.
• Own and drive complex projects with high ambiguity, translating broad business and product requirements into a clear technical roadmap and concrete ML deliverables.
• Architect and implement robust, scalable modeling solutions for novel problems that may have limited or no precedent, demonstrating thought leadership and originality.
• Design and champion rigorous offline and online (A/B) testing methodologies, and communicate results and strategic recommendations to executive‑level stakeholders and non‑technical audiences.
• Pioneer the application of bleeding‑edge academic research and industry practices, setting the technical direction for the team and mentoring junior scientists on new techniques.
• Own the long‑term health and performance of production models, driving the strategy for continuous improvement, scalability, and efficiency within a large‑scale distributed infrastructure.
• Act as a thought leader by publishing research in top‑tier conferences and journals, filing patent applications, and representing the team in technical forums.

What you will bring

• MS with 5+ years or PhD with 3+ years of relevant industry experience in a quantitative field (e.g., Computer Science, Machine Learning, Operations Research, Statistics, Engineering).
• Expert‑level understanding and a proven track record in applying NLP, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and advanced algorithms to solve real‑world problems.
• Extensive, hands‑on experience in Search, Information Retrieval, and/or Recommendation Systems.
• Deep familiarity with Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) is highly desirable.
• Mastery of Python and SQL, with expert proficiency in ML libraries (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, Scikit‑learn) and big‑data ecosystems (e.g., PySpark, Hadoop, Hive) in a cloud environment (GCP, Azure, or AWS).
• A strong track record of publications in peer‑reviewed conferences and journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, SIGIR, WSDM, RecSys) is a significant plus.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior data scientists and lead complex technical projects.

Salary & Compensation

The annual salary range for this position is $117,000.00 – $234,000.00. Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include stock.

Benefits

At Walmart, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, vision, and dental coverage; 401(k) with company match; stock purchase; paid time off (PTO, sick leave, parental leave, jury duty, voting leave); short‑term and long‑term disability; company discounts; military leave pay; adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement; and more. We also provide the Live Better U education benefit program, covering tuition, books, and fees for a range of courses. Eligibility and specific plan terms may apply.

Minimum Qualifications

• Option 1: Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field and 3 years of experience in an analytics‑related field.
• Option 2: Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field and 1 year of experience in an analytics‑related field.
• Option 3: 5 years of experience in an analytics or related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in data science, machine learning, and optimization models.
• Master’s degree in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or Econometrics.
• Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R.
• Proficiency with open‑source frameworks (e.g., scikit‑learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Background in creating inclusive digital experiences, including knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA standards, assistive technologies, and accessibility integration.

Location

815 Eleventh Ave, Sunnyvale, CA , United States of America

Equal Opportunity / EEO Statement

Walmart and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a drug‑free workplace and have a zero‑tolerance policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol on the job. Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 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 diversity—unique styles, experiences, identities, abilities, ideas, and opinions—while being inclusive of all people.