(USA) Principal, Software Engineer

Walmart•Sunnyvale, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, implementing and optimizing the core machine learning models that power Walmart ad ranking and optimization systems. You will work closely with Data Science and Product on requirement gathering and problem formulation, execute independently on feature engineering, offline model training and online model testing, lead team discussion on learnings and new technologies, and iterate on model tuning and improvement. By applying sound technical judgment and continuous improvement, you are committed to building reliable and high-performance models that meet customers' needs while advancing Walmart’s technology vision. The mission of Walmart Display Ads is to connect brand owners and shoppers with relevant display ads. We bring brand awareness and rich product information to shoppers and help brand owners grow their business. The Display Ad Serving team builds advanced services with cutting edge technologies, to understand shopper intent and surrounding context, serve relevant ads and optimize campaign performance. The team emphasizes strong project and stakeholder management, continuous improvement, and engineering excellence. It fosters a culture of coaching, problem solving, and innovation to drive impactful results while maintaining operational efficiency and alignment with strategic priorities.

Requirements

Proficiency in one of the programming languages, Java, Python, C++, etc.
Proven records for training, deploying, evaluating and operating high throughput machine learning algorithms.
Solid understanding of popular machine learning algorithms and hands-on experience of deep learning.
Familiarity with LLM applications in relevance scoring and engagement predictions.
Bachelor's degree in computer science or related fields.
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.

Nice To Haves

Master and PhD are preferred.
AdTech experience is a strong plus.
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.
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.
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

Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business needs into actionable technical requirements and measurable outcomes.
Collaborate with Data Scientists to prototype new algorithms and build ML model roadmaps.
Build scalable data pipelines for information retrieval and feature engineering.
Apply advanced AI/ML technologies to improve shopper intent understanding, contextual relevance, CTR/CVR predictions, etc.
Extract insights from production data and turn them into model improvement opportunities.
Stay on top of industry trends, and uplift engineering teams on best practice, code optimization, and new technologies.

Benefits

Competitive pay
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
Short-term disability
Long-term disability
Company discounts
Military Leave Pay
Adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
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.