(USA) Principal, Data Scientist

Walmart • Sunnyvale, CA

2d • $132,000 - $286,000

About The Position

Walmart Connect is hiring a Principal Data Scientist to lead the design and development of its next-generation advertising incrementality measurement platform. The role requires deep expertise in causal inference, incrementality, and randomized controlled trial experimentation, along with hands-on technical execution. The scientist will own measurement methodology end to end, partner with engineering and product teams to bring solutions into production, and serve as a technical authority on challenging measurement problems.

The team develops advanced advertising measurement solutions using data science, machine learning algorithms, and experimentation. The Principal Data Scientist will establish rigorous, causally grounded advertising measurement practices at Walmart Connect, define the scientific roadmap, and develop event-grain incrementality models that inform advertising bidding optimization.

Requirements

• PhD or master's degree in Statistics, Economics, Econometrics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field; a PhD is strongly preferred.
• At least 5 years of experience in data science or quantitative research; the role description states that advertising industry experience is preferred.
• Deep, specialized expertise in causal inference and/or incrementality-based optimization, including randomized controlled trials, PIE models, instrumental variables, uplift DNN, regression discontinuity, or related methods.
• Strong command of experiment design at scale, including power analysis, variance reduction, handling interference and spillover, and bias correction.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL for large-scale data analysis.
• Experience with distributed data platforms such as Spark, BigQuery, or equivalent.
• Strong statistical foundations and machine learning knowledge.
• Meets one of the listed minimum qualification alternatives: a bachelor's degree in a specified or related field and 5 years of analytics-related experience; a master's degree in a specified or related field and 3 years of analytics-related experience; or 7 years of experience in an analytics or related field.

Nice To Haves

• Advertising industry experience.
• PhD in a quantitative field; the role description specifically says a PhD is strongly preferred.
• Data science, machine learning, and optimization models.
• PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or Econometrics.
• Publications or active peer-review experience in related journals or conferences.
• Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R.
• Experience using open-source frameworks such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch.
• Knowledge of creating inclusive digital experiences, WCAG 2.2 AA standards, assistive technologies, and digital accessibility best practices.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement large-scale causal inference methodologies to measure incremental advertising lift across campaigns, channels, and segments.
• Establish evaluation frameworks, exit criteria, and readiness standards for causal inference methodologies, grounding approaches in hypotheses and data validation.
• Author technical design documents and whitepapers, and present findings to senior leadership.
• Define the science roadmap for incrementality and causal measurement, prioritize high-leverage problems, and make principled trade-offs.
• Develop event-grain incrementality models, including Uplift DNN, to power advertising bidding optimization decisions.
• Partner with engineers to design data pipelines and schemas that meet the precision requirements of causal measurement at scale.
• Mentor senior- and mid-level scientists.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and performance-based bonus awards.
• Medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• 401(k), stock purchase plan, and company-paid life insurance.
• Paid time off, including sick leave, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement leave, jury duty leave, and voting leave.
• Short-term and long-term disability.
• Company discounts.
• Military Leave Pay.
• Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement.
• PTO and/or PPTO that may be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes.
• Live Better U, a Walmart-paid education benefit program for eligible full-time and part-time associates, covering tuition, books, and fees for eligible programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal