PRINCIPAL, DATA SCIENTIST

Position Summary

Drives the execution of multiple business plans and projects by identifying customer and operational needs; developing and communicating business plans and priorities; removing barriers and obstacles that impact performance; providing resources; identifying performance standards; measuring progress and adjusting performance accordingly; developing contingency plans; and demonstrating adaptability and supporting continuous learning. Provides supervision and development opportunities for associates by selecting and training; mentoring; assigning duties; building a team-based work environment; establishing performance expectations and conducting regular performance evaluations; providing recognition and rewards; coaching for success and improvement; and promoting a belonging mindset in the workplace. Promotes and supports company policies, procedures, mission, values, and standards of ethics and integrity by training and providing direction to others in their use and application; ensuring compliance with them; and utilizing and supporting the Open Door Policy. Ensures business needs are being met by evaluating the ongoing effectiveness of current plans, programs, and initiatives; consulting with business partners, managers, co-workers, or other key stakeholders; soliciting, evaluating, and applying suggestions for improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness; and participating in and supporting community outreach events.

About The Team

The Catalog Data Science Team at Walmart Global Tech is focused on using the latest research in generative AI (GenAI), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), statistics, deep learning, computer vision and optimization to implement solutions that ensure Walmart’s product catalog is accurate, complete, and optimized for customer experience. Our team tackles complex data science and ML engineering challenges related to product classification, attribute extraction, trust & safety, and catalog optimization, empowering next-generation retail use cases.

What You'll Do

As a Principal Data Scientist, you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Formulating a strategy and roadmap to design, develop, and deploy AI/ML, NLP and GenAI models into production environments with a focus on reliability and scalability.
• Build/Fine-tune state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) using Walmart's massive datasets.
• Lead and inspire a team of scientists and engineers solving AI/ML problems through R&D while pushing the state-of-the-art to drive innovation at scale.
• Executing full life cycle of projects through planning, data collection, model prototyping and deployment, with responsibilities encompassing stakeholder management and communication to cross-functional partners.
• Partner closely with Product and engineering leaders to inform, drive and accelerate innovations in discovery experiences via Insights, frameworks, machine learning prototypes, and the strategic importance of AI initiatives.
• Upholding standards, governance, and best practices in AI/ML model development and compliance with model and data governance standards.
• Build a strong external presence through publishing your team’s work in top-tier AI/ML conferences and developing partnerships with academic institutions.

What You'll Bring

• PhD with >8 years of relevant experience / Master’s degree with > 10 years of experience / 4-year bachelor’s degree with > 12 years of experience. Educational qualifications should be preferably in Computer Science or a strongly quantitative discipline.
• Minimum of 12+ years of data science experience.
• Demonstrated history of technology leadership and strong hands-on experience.
• Proven records of scientific publications or intellectual property generation.
• Hands-on experience in Large Language Models, Multimodal Vision Language Models, Recommender Systems, Computer Vision, Optimization Models and Reinforcement Learning.
• Past experience in strong programming skills across data science, big data and ML engineering stack.
• Strong communication skills with inclination to high ownership and commitment.

Good to Haves

• Experience with Ecommerce domain.