Staff, Data Scientist_Conversational AI

Company: Walmart
Location: Fremont
Posted on: January 28, 2026

Job Description:

Position Summary What you'll do Position Summary Develop and customize state-of-the-art deep learning based generative models and multimodal models to support conversational customer shopping experience; Utilize cutting-edge machine learning/statistical/optimization techniques to deliver solutions for projects in the domain of conversational AI; Build, validate, test and deploy language models combined with different machine learning techniques to explain or predict behavior and solve a variety of business and engineering problems; Mine massive data, derive business insights, and propose interesting modeling projects that have the potential to have high business impact; Collaborate with engineering teams to define interfaces, understanding and resolving dependencies; Standardize and build scalable and highly available systems that follow operational best practices; Develop visuals and reports to efficiently communicating model results and insights to business teams; Maintain world-class academic credentials through patent applications, publications, conference presentations, and external collaboration and service to the research community. What you'll do You will work on Walmart’s core A.I. conversational platform, powering the vision of delivering the world’s best personal assistants to Walmart’s customers, accessible via natural voice commands, text messages, rich UI interactions, and a mix of all the above via multi-modal experiences. We believe conversations are a natural and powerful user interface for interacting with technology and enable a richer customer experience – both online and in-store. We are building and designing the next generation of Natural Language Understanding (NLU) services that other teams can easily integrate and leverage, and build rich experiences: from pure voice and text shopping assistants ( Sparky ), to customer care channels, to mobile apps with rich, intertwined, multi-modal interaction modes. We also partner with different external super-agent platforms (ChatGPT) to provide and optimize potential customers’ shopping experience. Interested in diving in? We need passionate and seasoned NLP data-scientists to help us improve and evolve our capabilities, taking into account the full conversational context, multi-modal interactions, and an ever-increasing list of use cases. Come at the right time, and you will have an enormous opportunity to make a massive impact on the design, architecture, and implementation of an innovative, mission critical product, driven by data-science, used every day, by people you know, and which customers love. As part of the emerging tech group, you will also have the additional opportunity of building demos, proof of concepts, creating white papers, writing blogs, etc. Minimum Qualifications Rich experience with NLP and language models (e.g., Transformers, BERT, Llama, GPTs, Gemini), including but not limited to prompt engineering, fine-tuning and efficient deployment. Experience with agentic system development, including but not limited to static/agentic flow design, agentic system evaluation. Solid programming skills of Python and familiar with challenges working with large data; Ability to take a project from scoping requirements through actual launch. A continuous drive to explore, improve, enhance, automate, and optimize models and products. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Preferred Qualifications Expertise in working with deep-learning based generative/multi-modal models or similar research experience with deep-learning/AI. Expertise in NLP and language models (e.g., Transformers, BERT, Llama, GPTs, Gemini), including but not limited to prompt engineering, fine-tuning and efficient deployment. Expertise in agentic system development, including but not limited to static/agentic flow design, agentic system evaluation. Solid programming skills of Python and familiar with challenges working with large data. Ability to independently take a project from scoping requirements through actual launch, driving alignment between product, engineers and UX designer. Rich experience in continuous drive to explore, improve, enhance, automate, and optimize models and products. Excellent oral and written communication skills. PhD degree in computer science, statistics, data science, mathematics or other discipline (e.g., electrical engineering, economics, psychology) that exposes scientific methods of research and analysis. Strong academic and publication record is required (NeurIPS, ICML, EMNLP, ACL, ICLR, AAAI, KDD etc.). 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 ? ? ? ? ? Minimum Qualifications Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum 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 Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications. Data science, machine learning, optimization models, PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Information Technology, Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Econometrics, Successful completion of one or more assessments in Python, Spark, Scala, or R, Using open source frameworks (for example, scikit learn, tensorflow, torch), 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 America Walmart 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.

Keywords: Walmart, San Ramon , Staff, Data Scientist_Conversational AI, Engineering , Fremont, California