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Walmart Canada · 2 months ago

(USA) Principal, Data Scientist: GenAI/ML

Sunnyvale, CA

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level, Lead/Staff

$143K/yr - $286K/yr

12+ years exp

Walmart Inc. is a leading retailer that is seeking a seasoned Principal Data Scientist with expertise in building and scaling ML products in production. The role focuses on developing recommender systems and GenAI solutions within a fast-paced environment, while also providing technical leadership and mentorship.

DeliveryRetailShopping

Responsibilities

Building and scaling ML products in production

Leading end-to-end ML products in production

Developing recommender systems and personalization at scale

Implementing GenAI systems, including RAG and agentic LLM workflows

Fine-tuning LLMs and reducing hallucinations

Designing LLM evaluation pipelines for factuality, consistency, and relevance

Optimizing LLM inference and ML modeling for classification tasks

Conducting strong experimentation with A/B testing and causal inference

Collaborating with data engineering on SQL/Spark pipelines and feature stores

Managing MLOps including deployment and monitoring

Providing technical leadership and mentoring team members

Qualification

Machine LearningRecommender SystemsGenAI SystemsDeep LearningMLOpsPythonSQLPyTorchTensorFlowData EngineeringExperimentationTechnical LeadershipCollaborationCommunication

Required

12+ years in applied data science/ML (or 8+ with a PhD)

5+ years leading end-to-end ML products in production

Proven success in recommender systems, personalization at scale, or search—especially using LLMs and embeddings

Experience with GenAI systems, including RAG and agentic LLM workflows

Fine-tuning LLMs (LoRA, DPO), reducing hallucinations, and implementing safety guardrails

Designed LLM evaluation pipelines for factuality, consistency, and relevance

Optimizing LLM inference: prompt caching, quantization, retrieval filtering

ML modeling for classification tasks (e.g., boosted trees)

Strong experimentation background: A/B testing, multi-armed bandits, causal inference

Deep learning expertise with PyTorch, TensorFlow, or Keras

Data engineering collaboration: SQL/Spark pipelines, feature stores, batch serving

MLOps: deployment, monitoring, drift detection, CI/CD

Domain fluency in retail/food signals, seasonality, substitutions, and consumer engagement

Technical leadership: mentors team, sets roadmap, elevates code standards

Tooling: Python, SQL, PyTorch/TensorFlow, Spark, Airflow, GCP/Azure, Docker/Kubernetes, Git

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

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

Benefits

401(k) match

Stock purchase plan

Paid maternity and parental leave

PTO

Multiple health plans

Medical, vision and dental coverage

Company-paid life insurance

Short-term and long-term disability

Company discounts

Military Leave Pay

Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement

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.