Staff Software Engineer – Backend

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

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

401(k) match

Stock options

Paid maternity and parental leave

Job summary

Walmart is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for its Marketplace Engineering team in Sunnyvale, CA. You will shape architecture for core platforms powering Walmart’s third-party seller ecosystem and lead high‑level design discussions with architects and senior engineers.

You will build scalable services using Java, Spring Boot, Kafka, Cassandra, Spark and Airflow, across Azure and GCP, with a focus on resilience and disaster recovery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering or related field with 4+ years in software engineering; or 6+ years in software engineering.
• Experience designing distributed, multi-tenant cloud-native systems across Azure, GCP or private cloud.

Responsibilities

• Lead design of distributed, fault-tolerant backend systems using Java (JDK 21), Spring Boot and event-driven architecture.
• Build scalable services and data pipelines with Kafka, Cassandra, Spark and Airflow.
• Develop platform capabilities for Marketplace Capital products including lending and payments.
• Mentor engineers and guide architectural direction across global teams.

Skills

Backend systems design

Distributed architectures

Java (JDK 21)

Spring Boot

Kafka

Cassandra

Data processing frameworks

Cloud platforms

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/engineering

Master’s degree in Computer Science/engineering

Tools

Kafka

Cassandra

Spark

Airflow

Spring Boot

Java

Azure

GCP

Job description

Position Summary

We are seeking a talented and passionate Staff Software Engineer to join our Marketplace Engineering team. In this role you will play a pivotal role in shaping the architecture, scalability and reliability of Walmart's core platforms and services. You'll partner with cross‑functional teams to deliver robust high‑performing systems that power Walmart's third‑party seller ecosystem.

About the Team

This role is part of the Walmart Marketplace Payments organization. Our team builds platforms and experiences that power how sellers and partners get paid. We drive high‑impact portfolios including Capital Faster Payout, Critical Payout Services, Risk Management, Agentic AI–powered workflows and the expansion of payment services across international markets. As these areas continue to grow in scale and complexity we are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to provide technical leadership, architectural direction and mentorship that will enable us to deliver with quality, resilience and speed.

Immigration Sponsorship support will NOT be available for this position.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design of distributed fault‑tolerant backend systems using Java (JDK 21), Spring Boot and event‑driven architectures. Drive both high‑level and low‑level design discussions in collaboration with architects and senior engineers.
• Build and deliver highly scalable services and data pipelines leveraging Kafka, Cassandra, Spark and Airflow. Write clean, performant and maintainable code while establishing engineering best practices.
• Build and deliver highly scalable microservices and cloud‑native applications across Azure, GCP and private cloud environments with a strong focus on disaster‑recovery readiness.
• Lead the architecture and development of platform capabilities supporting Marketplace Capital products, including lending, cashback eligibility, financial decisioning and related platform services.
• Design and implement intelligent Agentic AI‑powered workflows that improve engineering productivity, automate operational processes, enhance business decision‑making and deliver scalable AI‑driven capabilities across the Marketplace Payments platform.
• Design and build scalable payment platform capabilities that support Walmart's continued expansion across international markets while ensuring high availability, regulatory compliance and operational excellence.
• Ensure systems are resilient and reliable through strong CI/CD practices, observability including monitoring and alerting and disaster‑recovery strategies.
• Guide, mentor and elevate engineers at multiple levels. Foster a culture of technical rigor, ownership and continuous learning.
• Work with teams across geographies to define and deliver solutions aligned with business needs, marketplace growth and platform scale.
• Build tools, frameworks and reusable platform capabilities that accelerate developer productivity and reduce operational overhead.

What You'll Bring

• At least 6 years of professional software development experience with expertise in backend systems and a proven track record of leading architecture for distributed platforms.
• Deep proficiency in Java (JDK 21), Spring Boot, Kafka, Cassandra and large‑scale data processing frameworks such as Spark and Airflow.
• Strong background in designing multi‑tenant cloud‑native systems across Azure, GCP or private cloud environments with an emphasis on scalability, performance, reliability and resiliency.
• Experience designing or integrating AI‑powered applications, LLM‑based workflows or Agentic AI solutions into enterprise platforms to solve real business problems.
• Experience building or contributing to payments, financial services, lending, fintech marketplace or international payment platforms is a strong plus.
• Adept at breaking down complex problems into actionable solutions while balancing trade‑offs across performance, cost, reliability and delivery speed.
• Ownership‑driven and passionate about technology with curiosity to evaluate and adopt emerging technologies where they create measurable business value.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence, align and partner with engineers, product managers and stakeholders across global teams.
• Experience mentoring engineers, setting technical direction and raising the bar for engineering excellence.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including a competitive salary, 401(k) match, stock purchase plan, paid maternity and parental leave, PTO, multiple health plans and various other perks. Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses and stock options.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer – By Choice. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

Minimum Qualifications

Option 1: Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related field and 4 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Option 2: 6 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 2 years' experience in software engineering or related area. Experience 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 is valued.

Primary Location

1375 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089‑1114, United States of America

Salary Range

$143,000.00 - $286,000.00 per annum, plus performance‑based bonuses and stock options.