Distinguished, Software Engineer

Walmart•Bentonville, AR

2d•$130,000 - $338,000

About The Position

As a Distinguished Engineer in the AI & Data organization, you will serve as a senior individual contributor and technical leader responsible for shaping the long-term technical vision, architecture, and engineering excellence of our enterprise-scale AI/ML systems and platforms. You will work across teams to influence complex technical decisions, embed responsible AI foundations, and deliver scalable, resilient solutions that empower builders across Walmart. This role goes beyond hands-on engineering — it is about driving technical strategy, architecting for scale, and mentoring technical leaders to elevate engineering standards across the organization.

Requirements

12+ years of experience building and operating large-scale, distributed software systems.
Proven track record as a senior individual contributor driving system architecture or technical strategy.
Deep experience with AI/ML production systems, model serving, orchestration, and performance optimization.
Experience with observability practices, including structured logging, metrics, traces, and debugging distributed flows across client and gateway environments.
Strong expertise in scalable, cloud-native design and platform engineering.
Demonstrated ability to influence engineers and leaders without direct managerial authority.
Excellent communication and technical storytelling skills, with the ability to articulate complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 6 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.
8 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading AI/ML systems or platforms in a large enterprise environment.
Experience with LLM tool-calling or agentic systems (e.g., structured tool invocation, schema validation, prompt/tool design, guardrails).
Familiarity with schema/contract frameworks (JSON Schema, OpenAPI, Pydantic, protobuf) and backward-compatible tool evolution.
Knowledge of responsible AI practices and governance frameworks.
Experience with GenAI, prompt engineering patterns, or large-scale inference infrastructure.
Proven mentorship and leadership across multiple engineering teams.
Master’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
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.

Responsibilities

Define and drive the technical vision for AI/ML platforms and ecosystems that operate at enterprise scale.
Lead architecture reviews and design principles across GenAI integrations, model serving, and intelligent pipelines.
Establish architectural standards for reliability, security, scalability, and performance aligned with enterprise requirements.
Translate complex business needs into high-impact, long-term technical roadmaps.
Provide hands-on technical guidance and thought leadership to multi-team engineering and data science groups.
Influence AI/ML lifecycle practices, including model evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and observability.
Shape patterns for safe and governed AI adoption across internal platforms.
Lead cutting-edge prototyping and production strategies for mission-critical AI systems.
Partner with product, business, UX, data science, infrastructure, and governance teams to accelerate value delivery.
Advocate for engineering best practices and foster alignment across diverse technology domains.
Influence senior stakeholders, including executives, on technical trade-offs and strategic decisions.
Elevate engineering excellence by mentoring senior ICs, principal engineers, and emerging technical talent.
Champion best practices in code quality, system reliability, CI/CD pipelines, and operational maturity.
Sponsor and drive technical communities of practice to raise standards across AI & Data.
Drive architectural decisions with measurable technology impact.
Evaluate and recommend cutting-edge technologies to solve complex AI challenges.
Advocate for platform performance, reliability, and cost efficiency.
Participate in code reviews, design sessions, and system retrospectives.
Mentor and elevate senior engineers and technical teams across AI & Data.

Benefits

competitive pay
performance-based bonus awards
medical, vision and dental coverage
401(k)
stock purchase
company-paid life insurance
PTO (including sick leave)
parental leave
family care leave
bereavement
jury duty
voting
short-term and long-term disability
company discounts
Military Leave Pay
adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
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.