Staff, Data Scientist - Conversational AI

Walmart•Bellevue, WA

18h•$132,000 - $264,000

About The Position

Position Summary The Cortex team is Walmart’s core AI conversational platform, powering the vision of delivering the world’s best personal assistants to Walmart customers. Cortex enables natural interactions through voice, chat, and multimodal interfaces across Walmart experiences including Sparky, customer care, mobile apps, and in-store tools. We believe conversations are one of the most powerful user interfaces for interacting with technology. Our platform enables rich conversational experiences for millions of customers every day. We are looking for Staff Data Scientists specializing in Conversational AI and Generative AI to help design and build the next generation of intelligent assistants. This role focuses on applying large language models, advanced NLP, and agentic AI architectures to solve real-world problems at massive scale. This is a unique opportunity to shape production-grade conversational systems used by millions of customers, while working alongside a highly collaborative team of applied scientists, engineers, and product leaders. What You'll Do • Design and develop Generative AI and conversational systems powered by transformer-based LLM architectures (e.g., GPT, Claude, Gemini). • Lead the development of agentic AI systems, including system design for multi-agent workflows, reasoning chains, tool use, and orchestration frameworks. • Develop and optimize prompt engineering strategies, including system prompts, structured prompting, retrieval augmentation, and guardrail design. • Build and deploy end-to-end conversational AI pipelines, from data preparation and model training to evaluation, and monitoring. • Analyze conversational data to identify patterns, perform error analysis, and continuously improve model quality and user experience. • Design evaluation frameworks and experimentation methodologies for conversational AI systems, including offline benchmarks and online A/B testing. • Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product, and business teams to launch scalable AI-powered customer experiences. • Help define architecture and best practices for LLM-based production systems at Walmart scale.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related field OR equivalent industry experience.
5+ years of experience in ML Data Science, Applied Machine Learning, or AI-related roles.
Strong expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP), Conversational AI, or Generative AI systems.
Hands-on experience designing and deploying LLM-based applications using transformer architectures.
Prompt engineering expertise is required, including structured prompting, RAG, system prompt design, and safety techniques.
Experience building agentic AI systems and system design for multi-agent architectures.
Strong programming skills in Python, and working knowledge of SQL.
Strong understanding of ML evaluation metrics, statistical methods, and experimental design.
Ability to drive projects from research and prototyping through production launch.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or related field.
Experience building multimodal AI systems combining text, voice, images, and UI context.
Experience with production-scale conversational agents or AI assistants.
Familiarity with LLM serving optimization techniques, including LoRA and multi-LoRA.
Experience designing LLM evaluation frameworks, error analysis pipelines, and model quality monitoring.
Experience working in fast-paced, highly collaborative environments delivering high-impact AI products.
Data science, machine learning, optimization models
PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics
Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R
Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch)
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

Design and develop Generative AI and conversational systems powered by transformer-based LLM architectures (e.g., GPT, Claude, Gemini).
Lead the development of agentic AI systems, including system design for multi-agent workflows, reasoning chains, tool use, and orchestration frameworks.
Develop and optimize prompt engineering strategies, including system prompts, structured prompting, retrieval augmentation, and guardrail design.
Build and deploy end-to-end conversational AI pipelines, from data preparation and model training to evaluation, and monitoring.
Analyze conversational data to identify patterns, perform error analysis, and continuously improve model quality and user experience.
Design evaluation frameworks and experimentation methodologies for conversational AI systems, including offline benchmarks and online A/B testing.
Collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, product, and business teams to launch scalable AI-powered customer experiences.
Help define architecture and best practices for LLM-based production systems at Walmart scale.

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.