Staff Data Scientist- MLE - Recommendations & Personalization

Position Summary We are seeking a Staff engineer to architect and lead the feature engineering ecosystem for large-scale recommendation and personalization systems. This role owns feature strategy, platform design, and cross‑team alignment, while remaining hands‑on for high‑impact systems. What You'll Do We are seeking a Staff engineer to architect and lead the feature engineering ecosystem for large-scale recommendation and personalization systems. This role owns feature strategy, platform design, and cross‑team alignment, while remaining hands‑on for high‑impact systems. Responsibilities Design the end‑to‑end feature architecture supporting candidate generation, ranking, and re‑ranking Lead the design and evolution of feature stores (offline + online) optimized for recsys workloads Define standards for feature versioning, lineage, freshness SLAs, and point‑in‑time correctness Architect systems supporting real‑time, near‑real‑time, and batch features Technical Leadership & Influence Drive feature engineering best practices across multiple recommendation teams Partner with Product and ML leadership to align feature strategy with personalization goals Mentor Senior engineers on recsys feature design and scalable data systems Review and approve designs for complex, high‑risk feature pipelines Advanced Recsys Enablement Enable cross‑surface feature reuse (home feed, search, cart, last call, etc.) Lead efforts around feature observability, drift detection, and model health Anticipate future needs such as contextual personalization, cold‑start handling, and diversity controls Ownership & Execution Own critical feature pipelines that directly impact revenue and engagement Lead incident response for feature or data failures affecting ranking quality Balance long‑term platform investments with short‑term business priorities Explainability Qualifications 4+ years in data engineering, ML engineering, or recsys platform roles Deep expertise in distributed systems and large‑scale data processing Proven experience architecting feature platforms for recommendation systems Strong understanding of ranking architectures, candidate generation, and personalization patterns Exceptional technical communication and leadership skills About Walmart Global Tech Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That’s what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We’re a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity experts and service professionals within the world’s leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations. We are people‑led and tech‑empowered. We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail. Walmart’s culture is a competitive advantage, and it’s fostered by being together. Working together in person allows us to collaborate, align quickly and innovate with greater speed. We use our campuses to create purposeful connection rooted in deepening understanding and investing in the development of our associates. Our hubs: Walmart is a global company with offices across the United States and around the world. Our global headquarters is in Bentonville, Arkansas, with primary hubs in the San Francisco Bay area and New York/New Jersey. 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. Stock Equal Opportunity Employer Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer – By Choice. We believe we are best equipped to help our associates, customers, and the communities we serve live better when we really know them. That means understanding, respecting, and valuing unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas, and opinions – while being inclusive of all people. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed in the role. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The full Job Description can be made available as part of the hiring process. At Walmart, we offer competitive pay as well as performance‑based bonus awards and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet. 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. The amount you receive depends on your job classification and length of employment. It will meet or exceed the requirements of paid sick leave laws, where applicable. For information about PTO, see . 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. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to a specific plan or program terms. For information about benefits and eligibility, see One.Walmart ( Minimum Qualifications Option 1: Bachelors degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 4 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 2: Masters degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 2 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 3: 6 years' experience in an analytics or related field Preferred Qualifications 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. Primary Location 1395 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1114, United States of America Walmart and its subsidiaries are committed to maintaining a drug‑free workplace and has a no tolerance policy regarding the use of illegal drugs and alcohol on the job. This policy applies to all employees and aims to create a safe and productive work environment. #J-18808-Ljbffr Walmart