Principal Data Engineer

Walmart Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 143,000 - 286,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discount Card

10% off Walmart products

Live Better U

Medical, dental, vision

Job summary

Walmart Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Principal Engineer to architect scalable data systems processing billions of advertising and customer signals across real-time, near-real-time, micro-batch, and batch workloads.

The role ensures low latency, high throughput, resilience, replayability, idempotency, and cost-efficient scaling. You will unify advertising data across campaigns, identity, audiences, measurement, optimization, CRM, and advertiser lifecycle, building multi-tenant platforms with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and 5 years' experience in software engineering or related field.
• Option 2: 7 years' experience in software engineering or related field.
• Master's degree in Computer Science and 3 years' experience in software engineering or related field.
• 4 years' experience in data engineering, database engineering, business intelligence, or business analytics.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture of real-time, large-scale advertising and customer data platforms processing billions of signals with predictable latency, resilience, replayability, and cost efficiency.
• Define when workloads use streaming, near-real-time, micro-batch, or batch patterns while modernizing legacy pipelines.
• Provide technical leadership across the full advertising lifecycle, including events, identity, audiences, campaigns, measurement, optimization, CRM, and marketing data.
• Build reusable, multi-tenant, configuration-driven platforms with standardized schemas, contracts, observability, privacy, and deployment.
• Establish governed agentic data capabilities for discovery, pipeline creation, monitoring, diagnosis, optimization, onboarding, and AI-ready products with guardrails.

Skills

Billion-scale distributed

Real-time systems

Spark

Flink

Kafka

Streaming

Orchestration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science

8+ years software/data engineering

Tools

BigQuery

Dataproc

Dataflow

Pub/Sub

Airflow

Job description

1275 Crossman Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1103

R-2671675

$143,000 - $286,000/yr

Regular/ Permanent

Position Summary...

PrincipalEngineerresponsibleforarchitectingscalabledatasystemsprocessingbillionsofadvertisingandcustomersignalsacrossreal-time,near-real-time,micro-batch,andbatchworkloads.
Ensurelowlatency,highthroughput,resilience,replayability,idempotency,andcost-efficientscaling.
Unifyadvertisingdataacrosscampaigns,identity,audiences,measurement,optimization,CRM,andadvertiserlifecycle.
Buildreusable,configuration-driven,multi-tenantplatformswithstandardizedschemas,contracts,governance,observability,privacy,anddeploymentpatterns.
Modernizelegacypipelinesforreal-timeoptimization,reporting,activation,andML.
Leadagenticdataenablementspanningdiscovery,pipelineautomation,monitoring,diagnostics,costoptimization,onboarding,recommendations,andsecure,explainableproductionguardrails.

About the team

GlobalAdTechandMarTechbuildsthedataanddecisioningplatformspoweringadvertisingacrossWalmartU.S.,Sam’sClub,andinternationalmarkets.
Connectsidentity,intent,audiences,campaigns,inventory,bidding,relevance,creative,transactions,attribution,andmeasurementatmassivescaleinrealtime.
EnablesSponsoredProducts,Display,CTV,offsite,social,andin-storeadvertising,plusreporting,targeting,activation,optimization,forecasting,recommendations,andadvertiseranalytics.
Operatesplatformsprocessingbillionsofevents,adrequests,andtensofbillionsofbidsdaily.
Designsforthroughput,latency,correctness,resilience,privacy,scalability,andcostefficiency.
AdvancesAIandagenticadvertisingthroughtrusted,governed,reusabledatafoundationsanddecisioningcapabilities.

What you'll do

• Leadthearchitectureofreal-time,large-scaleadvertisingandcustomerdataplatformsprocessingbillionsofsignalswithpredictablelatency,resilience,replayability,andcostefficiency.
• Definewhenworkloadsusestreaming,near-real-time,micro-batch,orbatchpatternswhilemodernizinglegacypipelines.
• Providetechnicalleadershipacrossthefulladvertisinglifecycle,includingevents,identity,audiences,campaigns,measurement,optimization,CRM,andmarketingdata.
• Buildreusable,multi-tenant,configuration-drivenplatformswithstandardizedschemas,contracts,observability,privacy,anddeployment.
• Establishgovernedagenticdatacapabilitiesfordiscovery,pipelinecreation,monitoring,diagnosis,optimization,onboarding,andAI-readyproducts,withproductionguardrailsforsecurity,reliability,explainability,safety,andmeasurableoutcomesacrossglobaladvertisingbusinesses.

What you'll bring

• Deepexpertisedesigningbillion-scale,real-timeandnear-real-timedistributeddatasystemsusingSpark,Flink,Kafka,streaming,orchestration,andcompute/storageoptimization.
• StrongexperiencewithGCPorequivalentcloudplatforms,includingBigQuery,Dataproc,Dataflow,Pub-Sub,Airflow,andmoderndatainfrastructure.
• Deepunderstandingoflow-latencyarchitecturesatScale,partitioning,backpressure,replay,consistency,faulttolerance,resilience,recovery,andcostefficiency.
• StrongAdTech/MarTechexpertiseacrossretailmedia,bidding,targeting,identity,attribution,measurement,reporting,CTV,andprivacy-safecollaborationisdesirable.
• Abilitytoconnectreal-timearchitecturedecisionstocampaigndelivery,ROAS,reach,frequency,inventoryutilization,andadvertiseroutcomes.
• ProvenPrincipal-levelleadershipshapingarchitecture,standards,strategictrade-offs,designreviews,andseniortechnicaltalent.

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 and 5 years' experience in software engineering or related field. Option 2: 7 years' experience in software engineering or related field. Option 3: Master's degree in Computer Science and 3 years' experience in software engineering or related field. 4 years' experience in data engineering, database engineering, business intelligence, or business analytics.

Preferred Qualifications

Data engineering, database engineering, business intelligence, or business analytics, ETL tools and working with large data sets in the cloud, Master's degree in Computer Science or related field and 5 years' experience in software engineering or related field, 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

1275 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1103, United States of AmericaWalmart 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.

Walmart is 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.

Benefits you'll enjoy

• Discount Card
• Get 10% off
• Walmart associates are eligible for a 10% discount card on most regular-priced items and fresh produce in-store and on select items at Walmart.com. Eligible after 90 days of employment.
• Live Better U
• 100% covered
• Earn a degree or in-demand skills certificates with no debt- Walmart covers 100% of tuition and books. Live Better U offers 60+ programs for Associates to pursue their dreams.
• Ready to grow your career? Walmart Academy offers job-specific retail training and leadership courses to help Associates reach their career goals.
• Medical, dental, vision, and wellness programs for you and your family
• Access mental health resources and assistance programs for life's challenges
• Training, leadership programs, and clear paths to advance.
• Imagine a workplace surrounded by innovation.At Walmart's new Home Office in Bentonville, Arkansas, we're redefining what it means to work at a global leader.
• Set on 350 acres of thoughtfully revitalized land, our new campus seamlessly integrates the charm of Northwest Arkansas with cutting edge design and technology. From biking trails and outdoor courtyards to flexible, tech-enabled workspaces, every detail reflects our commitment to sustainability, connection, and culture.
• Beyond the campus, Bentonville offers a dynamic lifestyle with world-class dining, art at the Crystal Bridges Museum, and countless outdoor activities.
• Whether you're exploring High South cuisine, enjoying live performances at our new amphitheater, or cycling the Razorback Greenway, you'll experience the perfect blend of small-town charm and big-city amenities.
• Join us at Walmart and grow your career alongside a community that feels like home.
• This isn't just a workplace—it's a destination for leaders eager to make a difference.