Principal, Data Scientist

Join Walmart as Principal Data Scientist in our Walmart Transactional Systems team. As a Principal Data Scientist, you will lead the development and deployment of advanced AI and machine learning models for Payments, Directed Spend, Checkout and Incentives optimizations. You will be instrumental in enhancing our payments intelligence and customer experiences across the checkout journey by implementing cutting edge AI-ML solutions. Drawing on your extensive experience, you will work on large-scale data challenges, design, build innovative algorithms, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive measurable business outcomes.

About the Team

The Walmart Transactional Systems team optimizes billions of payments through advanced analytics and machine learning. We build and operate a real-time data platform that powers revenue growth, fraud prevention, and enhanced customer experiences across Payments, Directed Spend, Checkout, and Incentives. Our team is responsible for developing and deploying ML models that prevent fraud and compliance risk, drive revenue growth, strengthen platform resiliency, and increase customer engagement.

What you'll do:

• Develop and Optimize ML Models: You are a builder. Design and build machine learning models for payments intelligence, checkout optimizations and anomaly detection.
• Lead Algorithmic Innovations: Drive the development of deep learning, reinforcement learning, multi-task learning, and LLM-based techniques to improve payments and checkout optimizations.
• Lead Model Architecture Discussions: Define and drive end-to-end ML architecture decisions, ensuring models are scalable, efficient, and aligned with business needs. Collaborate with ML engineers and platform teams to design architectures that integrate seamlessly into production.
• Scale AI/ML in Production: Work closely with MLOps and engineering teams to deploy and maintain scalable ML solutions for real-time and batch inferences.
• Experimentation and Evaluation: Define KPIs, design A/B tests, and lead offline/online evaluations to measure and optimize model effectiveness.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Partner with Product, Engineering, Program and Business teams to align machine learning initiatives with strategic goals.
• Experiment & Fail Fast: Identify innovative AI/ML use-cases for business teams to boost business processes and develop quick MVPs/POCs to enable stakeholders to make data-driven decisions.
• Mentor and Influence: Provide technical leadership, mentor junior team members, and contribute to the broader ML and AI strategy for the organization.

What you'll bring:

• Applied Experience: Hands-on with 10 years of experience in data science with a focus on AI/ML applications and operations research.
• Advanced ML & AI Knowledge: Proficiency in machine learning, deep learning, NLP (LLMs, BERT, RAG-based systems), and graph-based deep learning.
• Data-Driven Innovation: Leverage data insights and AI/ML to create automated resiliency, elevate customer experiences, and optimize revenue generation.
• Open-Source ML Technologies: Strong experience with distributed computing, feature stores (Feast), and ML platforms such as MLflow and Kubeflow.
• Strong Programming & Engineering Skills: Proficiency in Python, PySpark, SQL, JavaScript with experience in writing production-quality ML pipelines.
• Proven Track Record: Experience in designing and building ML projects that drive measurable business impact.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Partner with engineering, product, and business teams to prioritize and deliver high-impact data products and continuous improvements.
• External Presence: Technical paper publications, present in AI/ML conferences and nurture partnerships with academic institutions.
• Nice to have: Prior payment and/or fraud prevention experience.

About Walmart Global Tech

Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That’s what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We’re a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity expert's and service professionals within the world’s leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations. We are people-led and tech-empowered. We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail.