Principal, Software Engineer

Position Summary

The Principal, Software Engineer leads the design and delivery of scalable platform capabilities, driving technical execution across multiple teams. This role applies cloud-native architecture principles to develop resilient distributed systems and integrates AI/ML solutions that serve millions of users.

The position requires strategic technical leadership, mentorship, and collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders to translate business needs into actionable engineering outcomes. The Principal Engineer ensures high-quality deliverables, fosters innovation, and advances Walmart's engineering vision through knowledge sharing and continuous improvement initiatives.

The AdTech Measurement and Reporting team builds scalable, cloud-native platforms for real-time data processing and AI integration. This team delivers detailed performance insights that support informed decision-making and business objectives. Collaborating across functions, members design robust tools to enhance reporting accuracy and efficiency.

Applying advanced engineering principles, software design patterns, and data-driven methods, the team ensures reliable, high-quality outputs. Focused on continuous innovation and alignment with strategic goals, this group advances Walmart's technology solutions through disciplined development, testing, and delivery practices.

What you'll do

• Be the technical leader of 30+ engineers.
• 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

• 8+ 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.

Pay and benefits

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.

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

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 5 years' experience in software engineering or related area.
• Option 2: 7 years' experience in software engineering or related area.

Preferred Qualifications

Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no 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

1345 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1114, United States of America