(USA) Distinguished, Data Scientist
About The Position
Walmart is seeking a Distinguished Data Scientist to shape the AI/ML vision for Global Governance across Security, Compliance, Privacy, Legal, Product Safety, Trade Compliance, and related domains. This senior individual contributor will combine deep expertise in machine learning, agentic AI, advanced analytics, and responsible AI with enterprise-level technical leadership. Partnering across Business, Product, Engineering, and Data Science, this leader will architect scalable AI solutions, establish reusable patterns and standards, mentor senior technical talent, and help transform complex governance workflows into intelligent, proactive, measurable capabilities while advancing an AI-first approach to both our products and how we build them. The Global Governance Technology team develops advanced technology and AI solutions to safeguard Walmart, its associates, customers, and business operations across key governance and risk areas. The team addresses complex challenges in security, compliance, privacy, legal, ethics, product safety, and global trade. Emphasizing trust, explainability, reliability, and governance, the team leverages cutting-edge machine learning, generative AI, computer vision, graph intelligence, optimization, and automation to enable predictive, proactive, and intelligent decision-making that supports Walmart’s strategic objectives.
Requirements
- Deep expertise in machine learning, applied statistics, optimization, and production AI systems, with hands-on experience in GenAI and agentic architectures including RAG, tool use, orchestration, evaluation, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
- Strong knowledge in areas such as NLP, computer vision, graph ML, anomaly detection, causal inference, forecasting, or optimization is highly valued.
- Strong engineering judgment, experience with large-scale data and ML platforms, and a track record of influencing senior technical and business leaders.
- Experience mentoring senior talent and establishing reusable technical standards or platforms is essential.
- Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 6 years' experience in an analytics related field.
- Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 4 years' experience in an analytics related field.
- 8 years' experience in an analytics or related field.
Nice To Haves
- Data science, machine learning, optimization models
- PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics
- Publications or active peer reviewer in related journals or conference
- Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R
- Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch)
- Knowledge of accessibility best practices and joining efforts to create accessible products and services following Walmart’s accessibility standards and guidelines for supporting an inclusive culture.
Responsibilities
- Define AI/ML strategy across Global Governance and lead development of production-scale AI solutions spanning risk intelligence, investigations, anomaly detection, computer vision, graph analytics, optimization, and agentic AI.
- Architect reusable AI platforms and patterns, establish evaluation and Responsible AI standards, and influence build-vs-buy and long-term technology decisions.
- Partner closely with Business, Product, Engineering, and Data Science to move from problem framing through deployment and measurable outcomes.
- Mentor senior scientists and engineers, raise technical rigor, and drive best practices across experimentation, model validation, MLOps, observability, explainability, and enterprise AI governance.
Benefits
- Performance-based bonus awards
- Medical coverage
- Vision coverage
- Dental coverage
- 401(k)
- Stock purchase
- Company-paid life insurance
- PTO (including sick leave)
- Parental leave
- Family care leave
- Bereavement
- Jury duty
- Voting leave
- Short-term disability
- Long-term disability
- Company discounts
- Military Leave Pay
- Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
- Live Better U (Walmart-paid education benefit program for full-time and part-time associates)
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
