Director, Software Engineering

Walmart•Bentonville, AR

14d•Onsite

About The Position

As the Director of Engineering for Walmart’s Agent AI Platform, you will lead the strategy, architecture, and execution of the core AI technologies powering Sparky and the next generation of customer experiences. You will drive the foundational platform capabilities—including agent orchestration, reasoning pipelines, retrieval systems, and real-time AI inference—that enable intelligent, scalable, and trustworthy AI across web, mobile, and in-store experiences. You will partner with Product, Design, Data Science, Research, and cross-functional Engineering teams to shape the future of AI at Walmart. Your leadership will foster a culture of innovation, technical excellence, and high performance while delivering solutions that impact hundreds of millions of users.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; Master’s preferred.
15+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years in engineering leadership roles .
Proven experience building and scaling large distributed systems (Java, Python, or similar).
Hands-on experience with modern AI/ML platforms: LLMs, RAG, vector search, knowledge bases, orchestration frameworks.
Deep knowledge of cloud-native architectures, micro-services, CI/CD, and backend testing frameworks.
Experience working with data science or ML teams to bring models into production.
Track record of delivering platforms adopted by multiple product teams at enterprise scale.
Strong communication skills, strategic thinking, and ability to drive alignment across diverse stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 4 years' experience in software engineering or related area
Experience in retail, e-commerce, or other large-scale consumer-facing products is a plus.
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.

Responsibilities

Platform & Technical Leadership Lead architecture and development of Sparky Agent AI Platform, powering conversational and task-oriented agents.
Design and scale distributed systems supporting LLMs, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), knowledge bases, and agent orchestration.
Define platform capabilities such as context management, evaluation pipelines, safety/guardrails, observability, and cost-efficient inference.
Drive technical strategy and platform roadmaps aligned with business goals and long-term product vision.
Ensure excellence in performance, reliability, accessibility, and security of AI-driven systems.
Execution & Delivery Deliver production-ready AI platform features used by multiple product and experience teams.
Establish engineering best practices, high code quality, and strong operational maturity (SLOs, incident management, performance monitoring).
Improve developer workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-native deployment processes.
Ensure fast iteration loops for model integration, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
People Leadership Lead, grow, and mentor a team of high-performing backend and platform engineers (including managers and senior ICs).
Build a strong engineering culture centered on innovation, accountability, and learning.
Drive team planning, goal setting, career development, and performance management.
Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with Product and UX to deliver intuitive, AI-powered customer experiences.
Work closely with Applied AI/Data Science teams to productize models, optimize inference, and establish evaluation frameworks.
Collaborate with Security, Legal, and Responsible AI teams to ensure safe, compliant, and ethical AI deployment.
Innovation & Thought Leadership Stay ahead of emerging AI technologies, agent frameworks, model architectures, and industry trends.
Champion experimentation and rapid prototyping to unlock new capabilities and improve user experiences.
Influence enterprise-wide AI strategy through technical vision, architectural leadership, and platform standardization.

Benefits

Beyond our great compensation package, you can receive incentive awards for your performance.
Other great perks include 401(k) match, stock purchase plan, paid maternity and parental leave, PTO, multiple health plans, and much more.
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.
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.