(USA) Staff, Data Scientist

Walmart • Sunnyvale, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Position Summary... What you'll do... The Mission At Sam’s Club, we are building the next generation of autonomous commerce. The gap between raw data and agentic action is the Semantic Layer—and you are the architect of that bridge. As a Staff Data Scientist, you are the high-level Individual Contributor responsible for ensuring our data isn't just "stored," but agent-consumable. You will lead the transition from traditional data architectures to context-aware world models. Your goal is to transform massive retail datasets into a high-fidelity semantic environment where AI agents can reason, plan, and execute complex member tasks with zero friction. ________________________________________ What You’ll Do • Architect Agent-Ready Data: Lead the scientific strategy for building the context and semantic layer. You will define how structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data are unified into Knowledge Graphs, Embeddings, and Metadata layers that power agentic reasoning. • Lead the Agentic Transformation: Act as the technical "North Star" for the organization. You will ensure that every data product built is optimized for Tool-Calling, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and Multi-Step Planning. • Evaluate the "Latest and Greatest": Constantly scout the frontier of AI research. You will evaluate emerging frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, AutoGen, GraphRAG) and state-of-the-art models to determine which will define the Sam's Club agentic stack. • Bridge Science and Engineering: Interface directly with Engineering Managers and Data Scientists. You are the "technical glue" that ensures engineering pipelines deliver the semantic richness and reasoning density required by our model-driven agents. • Design Reasoning Scaffolding: Develop the methodologies for Context Enrichment—ensuring agents have the right "mental model" of the member, the inventory, and the business logic at the exact moment of decision. • Define Quality for Agents: Move beyond standard data quality. You will create evaluation frameworks that measure Semantic Precision, Retrieval Relevancy, and Reasoning Trajectory Success, ensuring our agents are grounded and hallucination-free. ________________________________________ What You’ll Bring • Advanced Technical Standing: 7–10+ years in Data Science, Applied ML, or Semantic Engineering. You should have a proven track record of deploying complex, model-driven systems into production. • Agentic Ecosystem Expertise: Deep, hands-on experience with the agentic stack: Vector Databases (Pinecone, Milvus), Graph Databases (Neo4j), and LLM Orchestration. • Semantic Mastery: Expert-level understanding of Ontology Design, Knowledge Graph construction, and Embedding space optimization. You know how to turn a flat database into a rich, navigable world model. • Hybrid Skillset: You live at the intersection of Data Science and Systems Engineering. You are as comfortable discussing $P(Action | Context)$ as you are optimizing a Spark job or a BigQuery schema. • Engineering Mindset: Fluency in Python, Java, or Scala. You have a deep understanding of how schema choices, latency, and data density impact the "IQ" of an autonomous agent. • Collaborative Influence: Experience leading through influence. You can align cross-functional teams around a shared technical vision for the future of agent-led engagement. ________________________________________ The Tech Stack • Intelligence: LLMs (OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic), LangChain/LlamaIndex, LangGraph. • Data & Context: BigQuery, Dataflow, Neo4j, Vector DBs, Spark/PySpark. • Decision Science: Reinforcement Learning, Contextual Bandits, Ranking & Retrieval. At Sam's Club, 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, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. 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. - Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more. Live Better U is a company 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 Regional Pay Zone (RPZ) (based on location). At Sam's Club, 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, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. 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. - Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more. Live Better U is a company 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 Regional Pay Zone (RPZ) (based on location). At Sam's Club, 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, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. 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. - Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more. Live Better U is a company 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 Regional Pay Zone (RPZ) (based on location). ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ‎

Requirements

• Advanced Technical Standing: 7–10+ years in Data Science, Applied ML, or Semantic Engineering. You should have a proven track record of deploying complex, model-driven systems into production.
• Agentic Ecosystem Expertise: Deep, hands-on experience with the agentic stack: Vector Databases (Pinecone, Milvus), Graph Databases (Neo4j), and LLM Orchestration.
• Semantic Mastery: Expert-level understanding of Ontology Design, Knowledge Graph construction, and Embedding space optimization. You know how to turn a flat database into a rich, navigable world model.
• Hybrid Skillset: You live at the intersection of Data Science and Systems Engineering. You are as comfortable discussing $P(Action | Context)$ as you are optimizing a Spark job or a BigQuery schema.
• Engineering Mindset: Fluency in Python, Java, or Scala. You have a deep understanding of how schema choices, latency, and data density impact the "IQ" of an autonomous agent.
• Collaborative Influence: Experience leading through influence. You can align cross-functional teams around a shared technical vision for the future of agent-led engagement.

Nice To Haves

• 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.

Responsibilities

• Architect Agent-Ready Data: Lead the scientific strategy for building the context and semantic layer. You will define how structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data are unified into Knowledge Graphs, Embeddings, and Metadata layers that power agentic reasoning.
• Lead the Agentic Transformation: Act as the technical "North Star" for the organization. You will ensure that every data product built is optimized for Tool-Calling, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and Multi-Step Planning.
• Evaluate the "Latest and Greatest": Constantly scout the frontier of AI research. You will evaluate emerging frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, AutoGen, GraphRAG) and state-of-the-art models to determine which will define the Sam's Club agentic stack.
• Bridge Science and Engineering: Interface directly with Engineering Managers and Data Scientists. You are the "technical glue" that ensures engineering pipelines deliver the semantic richness and reasoning density required by our model-driven agents.
• Design Reasoning Scaffolding: Develop the methodologies for Context Enrichment—ensuring agents have the right "mental model" of the member, the inventory, and the business logic at the exact moment of decision.
• Define Quality for Agents: Move beyond standard data quality. You will create evaluation frameworks that measure Semantic Precision, Retrieval Relevancy, and Reasoning Trajectory Success, ensuring our agents are grounded and hallucination-free.

Benefits

• 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, parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting. 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.
• Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more.
• Live Better U is a company 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