(USA) Principal, Software Engineer

Walmart • Sunnyvale, CA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing and improving algorithms for ads optimization, including budgeting, pacing, bidding and ranking. You will work closely with Data Science and Product on problem formulation, collaborate with multiple engineering teams to build scalable and high-performance services with high observability, establish insights for optimization opportunities, and iterate over system and algorithm improvements. You are a sharp software engineer with great math intuition. By applying sound technical judgment and continuous improvement, you are committed to building reliable and high-performance solutions 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 developing, deploying, and operating feedback control or reinforcement learning algorithms with fault tolerance.
• Bachelor's degree in operation research, computer science, or related fields.
• Extensive experience in platform engineering leadership, delivering scalable infrastructure and reusable tooling aligned with strategic roadmaps.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, mentorship, and influence on architectural standards across teams.
• Excellent problem-solving skills with a focus on operational metrics and customer-centric solutions.
• 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.
• 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 optimization algorithms and build roadmaps.
• Collaborate with multiple engineering teams to build low latency data pipelines to support budgeting and pacing algorithms as well as real-time bidding decisions.
• Design, implement, test and improve campaign optimization algorithms as well as training prediction models, to achieve advertiser goals with actional insights.
• Build offline simulation tools and online dark canary systems to support quick iterations of algorithm development with minimum risks.

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

What This Job Offers

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