Principal, Software Engineer - Marketplace Technology

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Vision coverage

Dental coverage

401(k) plan

Stock purchase

Job summary

Walmart Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer in Sunnyvale, CA to lead scalable platform capabilities and AI/ML integration while guiding multiple teams through the full software lifecycle.

You will mentor engineers, influence architecture decisions, and collaborate across product, data science, and ops to deliver reliable, high-performance systems serving millions of users.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/engineering or related field.
• 7+ years of software engineering or related experience.
• Experience leading platform development and ML integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead platform engineering to deliver scalable infra and AI/ML frameworks.
• Architect cloud-native distributed systems with high availability.
• Oversee SDLC across multiple teams with governance and quality.
• Mentor engineers and influence architectural standards.

Skills

Kafka

Cassandra

Elasticsearch

Kubernetes

Golang

Java

Scala

Python

CI/CD

REST APIs

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Kafka

DB2

Cassandra

Elasticsearch

Kubernetes

Job description

Position Summary

Role summary: As a Principal Software Engineer, you will lead the design and delivery of scalable platform capabilities, driving cloud-native architecture and distributed system solutions that support AI/ML integration and real-time data processing. This role requires overseeing the full software development lifecycle across multiple teams, ensuring technical excellence and alignment with strategic roadmaps. You will provide mentorship, influence architectural decisions, and collaborate cross-functionally to translate complex business needs into innovative, reliable software solutions that serve millions of users while fostering continuous improvement and operational excellence.

About the team: The Marketplace Tech team develops a dynamic platform connecting customers with third-party sellers by transforming complex data into actionable insights and production-ready models. Collaborating with product, engineering, and business units, the team drives seller success, customer experience, trust, safety, and growth. Members define success metrics, conduct experiments, and create predictive and causal solutions delivering measurable impact. Leveraging expertise in data science, machine learning, Python, and data visualization, the team addresses complex challenges with a focus on technical excellence, innovation, and clear communication to achieve strategic objectives.

What you’ll do

• Lead platform engineering efforts to deliver scalable infrastructure, reusable tooling, and AI/ML frameworks aligned with strategic roadmaps.
• Architect and implement cloud-native, distributed systems ensuring high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance.
• Oversee full software development lifecycle including coding, testing, deployment, monitoring, and incident response across multiple teams.
• Integrate AI agents and intelligent applications using modern programming languages and model-driven design principles.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and influence architectural standards to promote maintainability and interoperability.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define requirements, measure success, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure technical ownership, sound decision-making, and adaptability to evolving technologies and business needs.

What you’ll bring

• Extensive experience leading platform engineering initiatives, including shared infrastructure and scalable ML frameworks.
• Proven expertise in cloud-native architecture and distributed system design ensuring high availability and fault tolerance.
• Strong proficiency in software development lifecycle management, including CI/CD, testing, monitoring, and incident response.
• Demonstrated ability to architect AI/ML integrated applications using languages such as Python, Java, and C++.
• Skilled in applying model-driven design and leveraging modern development tools to enhance quality and velocity.
• Effective technical leadership and mentorship capabilities fostering engineering excellence and innovation.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills to engage cross-functional stakeholders and drive alignment.

Minimum education and experience required

• Option 1: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 5 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.
• Option 2: 7 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Skills required

• Experience building highly available, high-performance, redundant, and scalable distributed systems.
• Experience documenting high-level technical design documents.
• Experience developing low-level design documents.
• Experience designing and developing high performance microservices using Java, Golang, and Scala.
• Experience implementing Rest APIs with low latency and high reliability in Golang.
• Experience building event driven systems using Kafka for increased throughput.
• Experience integrating Cassandra, DB2 databases and optimizing query performance for high-load scenarios.
• Experience optimizing performance of microservices using profiling, concurrency and caching in Golang.
• Experience refactoring monolith services into scalable microservices in Golang.
• Experience integrating Elastic Search, Logstash, and Kibana for monitoring production systems.
• Experience deploying containerized services on Kubernetes.
• Experience performing code reviews in Golang, Java, and Scala to ensure best practices and coding standards.
• Experience mentoring and guiding junior associates on engineering standards.
• Experience collaborating with DevOps teams to streamline CI/CD pipelines.

Minimum Qualifications

• Option 1: Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 5 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.
• Option 2: 7 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 3 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

1395 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1114, United States of America.

About Walmart

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. About Walmart: Fifty years ago, Sam Walton started a single mom-and-pop shop and transformed it into the world’s biggest retailer. Since those founding days, one thing has remained consistent: our commitment to helping our customers save money so they can live better. Today, we’re reinventing the shopping experience and our associates are at the heart of it. You’ll play a crucial role in shaping the future of retail, improving millions of lives around the world. This is that place where your passions meet purpose. Join our family and create a career you’re proud of.

Employer will accept any amount of experience with the required skills. 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.

The annual salary range for this position is $143,000.00 - $286,000.00. Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include:

• Stock