Distinguished, Software Engineer - Machine Learning

Walmart; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 169,000 - 338,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k)

Stock purchase plan

Paid time off

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Walmart is seeking a Distinguished Software Engineer to lead the design and development of scalable, cloud-native AI-powered systems for AdTech measurement and reporting. You will drive architectural integrity, reliability, and performance while mentoring teams and championing best practices in CI/CD and observability.

You will collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and product managers to deliver end-to-end measurement solutions, including real-time and offline reporting, ensuring

Qualifications

• 10+ years in ML and data-intensive platform development.
• 4+ years as staff+ level technical lead.
• Experience with distributed data processing tools and databases.
• Able to apply AI to enhance productivity and drive innovation.
• Knowledge of GenAI techniques and transformer-based models.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of scalable, cloud-native AI-powered systems.
• Define technical direction and conduct design reviews with engineering teams.
• Troubleshoot production issues and coordinate resolution with cross-functional teams.
• Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and product managers to align strategy.

Skills

ML

Data pipelines

Staff-level leadership

Distributed systems

GenAI

AdTech knowledge

Education

PhD in data mining / ML / GenAI (preferred)

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/related

Tools

Spark streaming

Flink

Kafka

RAY

BigQuery

Druid

Cassandra

Job description

Position Summary...

As a Distinguished Software Engineer, you will lead the design and development of scalable, cloud-native AI-powered systems, ensuring architectural integrity and operational excellence. This role requires translating strategic objectives into robust technical solutions while fostering collaboration across engineering teams. You will champion best practices in software development, continuous integration, and reliability engineering, driving innovation and continuous improvement. By providing technical leadership and mentorship, you will enhance system performance, scalability, and maintainability, contributing to the achievement of business goals with a strong commitment to quality and operational readiness.

About the team:

The AdTech Measurement and Reporting team develops scalable, cloud-native platforms for real-time data processing and AI integration. This team delivers precise performance insights that support strategic decision-making and business goals. Collaborating across functions, members design robust tools to enhance reporting accuracy and efficiency. By applying advanced engineering principles and data-driven methods, the team ensures reliable, high-quality outputs. Focused on continuous innovation and alignment with technical strategy, this group advances Walmart’s technology solutions through disciplined development, testing, and delivery practices, emphasizing operational excellence and scalability.

What you'll do:

• Solve world class scale AdTech problems using ML (e.g., transformer model) and statistical methods together with a group talented engineers with doctoral degrees and industry experiences in top-tier tech companies.
• Lead platform development for a suite of measurement solutions from 0 to 1— including incrementality, attribution, data cleanroom measurement, partner integrations, and GenAI-powered reporting — supporting both real-time optimization and offline reporting with the absolute stability and correctness demanded by Walmart's multi-billion-dollar digital advertising business.
• Define technical direction and conduct design reviews for engineering teams while partnering with engineering leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to align technical strategy with business goals.
• Troubleshoot business and production issues by gathering information (issue, impact, criticality, possible root cause), engage support teams to assist in resolution of issues, formulate an action plan, performing actions as designated in plan, interpret the results to determine further action, and complete online documentation.

What you'll bring:

• 10+ years of experience in ML and data intensive platform development.
• 4+ years of experience as staff+ level technical lead.
• Familiar with distributed data processing tools and databases, e.g., Spark streaming, Flink, Kafka, RAY, BigQuery, Druid, Casandra, etc.
• Skilled at leveraging AI to enhance productivity and drive innovation.
• Familiar with GenAI skills and techniques e.g., MCP, RAG, Re-ranking, Agent Skill, Progressive disclosure, Context engineering, Agent-to-agent protocol, fine-tuning, etc.
• Familiar with prevailing ML libraries e.g., pyspark, pytorch, CUDA, Triton etc.
• Experience implementing statistical and machine learning methods for data classification, regression, ranking, and/or recommendation.
• Experience implementing transformer-based model training and real-time inference on GPU backed infrastructure.
• Experience working cross-functionally with data scientists, machine learning engineers, and product managers.
• Experience working in AdTech measurement with demonstrated knowledge of the AdTech business.

Preferred experiences:

• PhD in data mining, data management, machine learning, operation research, GenAI, or statistics is a plus.
• Publications in top-tier academic conferences or journals is a plus.
• Experience with ad-tech targeting, measurement, identity mapping, bidding, and optimization related domains is a plus.
• Extensive experience in real-time data streaming applications is a plus.
• Extensive experience in ads auction retrieval and rank is a plus
• Extensive experience in bid optimization applications is a plus.
• Patents in data mining or machine learning related domains is a plus.
• A good understanding of query optimization and distributed systems is a plus.
• A good understanding of industry trends in AdTech, ML, and GenAI is a plus.

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-11657: The annual salary range for this position is $169,000.00 - $338,000.00

Bellevue, Washington US-11663: The annual salary range for this position is $156,000.00 - $312,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also 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: Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 6 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Option 2: 8 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Preferred Qualifications...

Master's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 4 years' experience in software engineering or related area, 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...

1345 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.