Staff, Software Engineer

Position Summary...

What you'll do...

About the Team:
Spark Driver Platform operates across all 50 U.S. states, empowering millions of drivers to provide local delivery and making it Walmarts largest local delivery service provider. The Spark Driver Applied AI team is dedicated to enhancing efficiency and profitability by pushing the boundaries of machine learning, data science, and economics. We build highly reliable and scalable production systems that drive the growth of the Spark Driver Platform. Our key focus areas include Capacity Planning, Driver Search, Driver Matching, Driver Offer Pricing, Driver Surge Pricing, Incentive Strategy, ETA Prediction, and GenAI Automation for Driver Support.
About the Role:
As a Staff Software Engineer (Machine Learning Engineering), you will lead the design and development of large-scale, production-grade ML systems for Driver Search and Matching. This role requires deep expertise in both machine learning systems and distributed backend engineering. You will own end-to-end ML system architecture—from model serving and real-time decisioning to system scalability, reliability, and observability. You will partner closely with Applied Scientists, Business, Product, and Engineering teams to translate advanced ML models into robust, high-performance production systems. Your work will directly power real-time driver dispatch and matching decisions, improving delivery speed, marketplace efficiency, and driver experience at Walmart scale.  

About Team:
Our team works closely with our US stores and eCommerce business to better serve customers by empowering team members, stores, and merchants with technological innovation. From groceries and entertainment to sporting goods and crafts, Walmart U.S. offers an extensive selection that our customers value, whether they shop online at Walmart.com, through one of our mobile apps, or in-store. Focus areas include customers, stores and employees, in-store service, merchant tools, merchant data science, and search and personalization.

What you'll do:

• Architect and build scalable, low-latency ML systems for millions of real-time driver search and matching per second.
• Lead the end-to-end productionization of ML models, including serving, feature pipelines, and online inference systems.
• Design and optimize distributed systems for high-throughput, real-time decision-making.
• Collaborate with Applied Scientists to translate ML models (e.g., ML, ranking, optimization, RL) into production-ready systems.
• Own system reliability, monitoring, and observability, ensuring high availability and performance at scale.
• Drive best practices in MLOps, including CI/CD, model versioning, experimentation, and safe deployment.
• Lead technical design reviews and mentor engineers across the team.
• Influence system architecture and long-term technical strategy for Driver Search and Matching platforms.

What you'll bring:

• Ph.D. or Master in Computer Science or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, with strong focus on backend systems and/or ML engineering.
• Proven experience building and scaling real-time, distributed systems in production environments.
• Strong experience with ML production systems, including model serving, feature stores, and inference pipelines.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Java, Python, or C++.
• Experience with large-scale data and streaming systems (e.g., Kafka, Spark, Flink) and cloud platforms (GCP/Azure).
• Deep understanding of system design, scalability, and performance optimization.
• Experience working with ranking systems, recommendation systems, or marketplace optimization is a plus.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to drive ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives end-to-end.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence technical decisions across teams.

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 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 https://one.walmart.com/notices.
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 :
- Stock

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Minimum Qualifications...

Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum qualifications.

Option 1: Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 4 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.
Option 2: 6 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Preferred Qualifications...

Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications.

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Software Engineering, or related area and 2 years' experience in software engineering or related area, 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...

1375 Crossman Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1114, United States of AmericaWalmart 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.

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