(USA) Senior Manager, Data Science

Walmart • Bentonville, AR

2d • $110,000 - $220,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Position Summary... What you'll do... The Mission The Walmart Last Mile team is shifting from reactive tracking to proactive resolution. We are building an autonomous Recommendation Agent capable of detecting anomalies, diagnosing root causes via Causal AI, and prescribing actions to save the customer experience. We are seeking a Senior Manager, Data Science to serve as the Technical Lead for this initiative. You will be a high-impact Individual Contributor (IC) who architects the system and sets the engineering standard for the team. You won't just build models; you will define how we build, test, and monitor them. The Role This is a Player-Coach role. You will own the system architecture and mentor senior data scientists. You are the "Code Guardian"—ensuring that the team’s output isn't just scientifically sound but is also production-grade code that is tested, versioned, and monitored. What You Will Do Architect the System Strategy: Define the end-to-end framework for our proactive agent, deciding how we integrate Anomaly Detection, Causal Inference, and Forecasting into a cohesive system. Lead Code Quality & Reviews: Act as the gatekeeper for the codebase. You will conduct rigorous code reviews, enforce strict Git management workflows (branching strategies, PRs), and mandate comprehensive unit and integration testing. Model Observability: Design and implement ML Monitoring frameworks to track model performance, data drift, and concept drift in real-time. You ensure the agent doesn't silently fail when the world changes. Technical Mentorship: Lead the team through design docs and methodology selection. You will elevate the team's engineering maturity, moving them from "notebook scripts" to modular, deployable packages. Drive Causal Innovation: Spearhead the application of Causal AI to ensure our agents understand why failures happen, moving the team beyond simple correlation. Hands-On Development: Roll up your sleeves to write high-performance Python and PySpark code for the most complex components of the recommendation engine.

Requirements

• Core Stack: Expert-level fluency in Python and SQL.
• Big Data: Strong hands-on experience with PySpark
• Software Engineering Standards: Git Management: Advanced proficiency with version control. You know how to manage merge conflicts, release branches, and code repositories for a team.
• Testing: You don't merge code without tests. Experience writing and enforcing Unit Tests (pytest/unittest) and Integration Tests.
• ML Monitoring: Experience implementing monitoring solutions to detect Data Drift and Model Decay in production.
• Analytical Breadth: Causal Inference: Ability to apply causal frameworks to observational data.
• Forecasting & Anomaly Detection: Deep knowledge of time-series modeling and outlier detection methods.
• Bachelors degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 5 years' experience in an analytics related field.
• Masters degree in Statistics, Economics, Analytics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Technology or related field and 3 years' experience in an analytics related field.
• 7 years' experience in an analytics or related field.

Nice To Haves

• MLOps & DevOps: Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) and how to automate model training/deployment.
• Containerization: Experience with Docker or Kubernetes for model serving.
• Infrastructure: Understanding of cloud infrastructure (Azure/GCP) and how to optimize compute resources for heavy workloads.
• Leadership & Strategy Technical Authority: A track record of leading technical teams and setting coding standards.
• Ambiguity Tolerance: You can take a vague business goal ("Fix late deliveries") and decompose it into a concrete, executable roadmap.
• Advanced degree (MS/PhD) in a quantitative field (CS, Stats, OR, Econ) is preferred.
• 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
• Supervisory experience
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Architect the System Strategy: Define the end-to-end framework for our proactive agent, deciding how we integrate Anomaly Detection, Causal Inference, and Forecasting into a cohesive system.
• Lead Code Quality & Reviews: Act as the gatekeeper for the codebase. You will conduct rigorous code reviews, enforce strict Git management workflows (branching strategies, PRs), and mandate comprehensive unit and integration testing.
• Model Observability: Design and implement ML Monitoring frameworks to track model performance, data drift, and concept drift in real-time. You ensure the agent doesn't silently fail when the world changes.
• Technical Mentorship: Lead the team through design docs and methodology selection. You will elevate the team's engineering maturity, moving them from "notebook scripts" to modular, deployable packages.
• Drive Causal Innovation: Spearhead the application of Causal AI to ensure our agents understand why failures happen, moving the team beyond simple correlation.
• Hands-On Development: Roll up your sleeves to write high-performance Python and PySpark code for the most complex components of the recommendation engine.

Benefits

• 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.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level