Principal, Data Engineer

Reference: R-2591160Posted: 2026-08-05Location: BENTONVILLE, AR, United StatesSalary: $110000 - $220000/yearType: Full time / Regular/PermanentCompany: WalmartBusiness Segment: Home OfficeRole summary:As a Principal Data Engineer, you'll define the data architecture that powers Operational Intelligence for Marketplace. You'll lead the design of scalable data platforms, pipelines, and analytics that provide trusted engineering metrics, executive scorecards, and AI-ready datasets supporting thousands of engineers. This role combines deep technical expertise with strategic leadership to transform operational data into actionable intelligence that improves reliability, engineering productivity, and organizational decision making. About the team:The Marketplace Platform Reliability team develops and maintains engineering systems that support thousands of engineers in delivering reliable, scalable, and high-performing software. The team manages platforms, operational intelligence, AI capabilities, and engineering standards to enhance productivity and system reliability. Focused on innovation and continuous improvement, members design robust, scalable solutions that support business growth while optimizing operational efficiency. Collaboration, strategic alignment, and effective program management drive technical excellence across the Marketplace organization, ensuring high-quality standards and sustained platform performance.What you'll do:Define the architecture and technical strategy for Marketplace's Operational Intelligence platform.Design and build scalable data pipelines, data models, and analytics platforms that power engineering insights and executive scorecards.Partner with engineering and platform teams to standardize operational data and establish a source of truth for Operational and Engineering Excellence metrics.Drive data quality, governance, and platform scalability while enabling AI-driven analytics and automation.Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across data engineering initiatives.What you'll bring:Experience designing and building large-scale cloud data platforms and distributed data pipelines.Strong expertise in data modeling, data architecture, ETL/ELT, streaming data, and modern analytics platforms.Experience with cloud-native data technologies, SQL, Python, Spark, Kafka, or similar distributed data frameworks.Proven ability to define technical strategy and influence engineering organizations through data architecture and engineering leadership.Experience building operational analytics, engineering metrics, executive dashboards, or AI-ready data platforms.Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex data challenges into scalable engineering solutions.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. The annual salary range for this position is $110,000.00 - $220,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include : - StockMinimum qualifications["Option 1: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and 5 years' experience in software engineering or related field. Option 2: 7 years’ experience in software engineering or related field. Option 3: Master's degree in Computer Science and 3 years' experience in software engineering or related field.\n4 years' experience in data engineering, database engineering, business intelligence, or business analytics."]Preferred qualifications["ETL tools and working with large data sets in the cloud", "Data engineering, database engineering, business intelligence, or business analytics", "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.", "Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field and 5 years' experience in software engineering or related field"]