Distinguished, Data Scientist

Reference: R-2438203Posted: 2026-05-19Location: BELLEVUE, WA, United StatesSalary: $156000 - $312000/yearType: Full time / Regular/PermanentCompany: WalmartBusiness Segment: Home OfficeRole summary:We are seeking a hands-on highly skilled and experienced Distinguished Data Scientist to join our team. In this individual contributor role, you will report directly to the Sr. Director of Engineering and GenAI. In this role, you will be actively shaping the organization’s AI strategies and provide thought leadership. You will be sought after to design and develop cutting-edge AI solutions and algorithms while mentoring and guiding data scientists and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. This is an IC role with an expectation to be hands-on coding 80% of the time.About the team:The Customer Care Technology team develops advanced customer service solutions impacting millions globally. It includes software engineers, data scientists, and machine learning experts who drive innovative Generative AI applications within complex enterprise environments. As part of Walmart Global Tech’s Enterprise Business Systems, the team collaborates closely with product, business, and UX partners to deliver measurable business value. The team prioritizes scalable, secure, and maintainable software design while fostering continuous improvement and operational excellence to support Walmart’s mission of helping customers save money and live better.What you'll do:Key responsibilities of this role include but are not limited to Develop technical vision, long-term strategy and set direction for the team and the organizationDrive execution of developing models and systemsCommunicate, collaborate, and build relationships with clients and peer teams to facilitate cross-functional projects.Remain up to date on ongoing research and development activities in the team, help work through technical challenges, and be involved in design decisionsGuide and lead the organization data scientists to design, architect, and build AI/ML model and model systems.Collaborate with cross-functional teams and machine learning engineers to deploy, operate, and optimize scalable solutionsWhat you'll bring:Some of the skills needed for this role are but not limited to 10+ years of experience in AI Research15+ years of experience with full ML development lifecycle.Experience building machine learning models through all phases of development, from design through training, evaluation, validation, and implementation & monitoring.Experience with delivering very large models through the MLOps life cycleExperience with generative AI technology stack including prompt engineering, guardrails, advanced RAG, KAG, CAG, and fine-tuning.Extensive hands-on experience of a broad stack of technologies — Python, Huggingface, VectorDB, Tensorflow, Pytorch, ElasticSearch, Azure, etc.Authored research publications in top peer-reviewed conferences (NeurIPS/ICML/ICLR/AAAI), or industry-recognized contributions.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 $156,000.00 - $312,000.00 Additional compensation includes annual or quarterly performance bonuses. Additional compensation for certain positions may also include : - StockMinimum qualifications["Option 1: Bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 6 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 2: Master’s degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 4 years' experience in an analytics related field. Option 3: 8 years' experience in an analytics or related field."]Preferred qualifications["Data science, machine learning, optimization models", "Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R", "PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics", "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.", "Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch)", "Publications or active peer reviewer in related journals or conference"]