Staff Data Scientist- MLE - Recommendations & Personalization

Reference: R-2378324Posted: 2025-12-17Location: SUNNYVALE, CA, United StatesSalary: $143000 - $286000/yearType: Full time / Regular/PermanentCompany: WalmartWe 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.ResponsibilitiesFeature Platform & ArchitectureDesign the end-to-end feature architecture supporting candidate generation, ranking, and re-rankingLead the design and evolution of feature stores (offline + online) optimized for recsys workloadsDefine standards for feature versioning, lineage, freshness SLAs, and point-in-time correctnessArchitect systems supporting real-time, near-real-time, and batch featuresTechnical Leadership & InfluenceDrive feature engineering best practices across multiple recommendation teamsPartner with Product and ML leadership to align feature strategy with personalization goalsMentor Senior engineers on recsys feature design and scalable data systemsReview and approve designs for complex, high-risk feature pipelinesAdvanced Recsys EnablementEnable cross-surface feature reuse (home feed, search, cart, last call, etc.)Lead efforts around feature observability, drift detection, and model healthAnticipate future needs such as contextual personalization, cold-start handling, and diversity controlsOwnership & ExecutionOwn critical feature pipelines that directly impact revenue and engagementLead incident response for feature or data failures affecting ranking qualityBalance long-term platform investments with short-term business prioritiesExplainabilityQualifications4+ years in data engineering, ML engineering, or recsys platform rolesDeep expertise in distributed systems and large-scale data processingProven experience architecting feature platforms for recommendation systemsStrong understanding of ranking architectures, candidate generation, and personalization patternsExceptional technical communication and leadership skillsAbout Walmart Global TechImagine 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 expert's 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: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.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. The annual salary range for this position is $143,000.00 - $286,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include : - StockMinimum 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["Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R", "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.", "PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics", "Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch)", "Data science, machine learning, optimization models"]Additional information(empty)