(USA) Principal, Software Engineer

Walmart

2 - 5 years

California

Posted: 18/04/2026

Job Description

Position Summary...

What you'll do...

Role summary:
As a Principal Software Engineer, you will lead the design and delivery of scalable platform capabilities, driving innovation in cloud-native architectures and AI/ML integration. This role requires strategic technical leadership across multiple teams, ensuring alignment with long-term roadmaps and business objectives. You will oversee the full software development lifecycle, promote engineering excellence, and foster collaboration to solve complex problems. By applying sound technical judgment and continuous improvement, you will contribute to building reliable and high-performance systems that meet customers' needs while advancing Walmart’s technology vision.
About the team:
The Walmart Display Ads team connects brand owners and shoppers through relevant display advertising, enhancing brand awareness and product information. This team develops advanced services using innovative technologies to interpret shopper intent, deliver targeted ads, and optimize campaign outcomes. Emphasizing strong project and stakeholder management, continuous improvement, and engineering excellence, the team fosters a culture of coaching, problem solving, and innovation. It maintains operational efficiency and aligns with strategic priorities to drive impactful results, supporting the growth of both brands and shopper engagement in a dynamic and technology-driven environment.
What you'll do:

Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business needs into actionable technical requirements and measurable outcomes.
Lead design, implementation and operation of key services for Display Ad Serving, to meet strict latency and scalability requirements.
Identify scalability and performance bottlenecks in Display Ad Serving through monitoring, profiling and stress testing, propose roadmaps for system optimization and enhancement, and execute against the roadmaps.
Apply advanced AI/ML technologies to improve shopper intent understanding, publisher/page context insights, and real time shopper-ad matching efficiency.
Stay on top of industry trends, and uplift engineering teams on best practice, code optimization, and new technologies.
Navigate through ambiguity and contribute to long-term engineering strategies.

What you'll bring:

Expertise in cloud-native architecture and distributed system design ensuring high availability and low latency.
Extensive experience in building and operating large scale distributed systems with data intensive applications.
Demonstrated ability to lead full software development lifecycles, including CI/CD, testing, and incident response.
Strong proficiency in Java or C++, amplified with GenAI coding tools.
Hands-on experience of AI/ML applications and MLOps.
Commitment to innovation, continuous improvement, and mentoring engineering teams.
AdTech experience is a strong plus.

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 :
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Minimum Qualifications...

Outlined below are the required minimum qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no minimum qualifications.

Option 1: Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 5 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.
Option 2: 7 years’ experience in software engineering or related area.

Preferred Qualifications...

Outlined below are the optional preferred qualifications for this position. If none are listed, there are no preferred qualifications.

Master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, computer information systems, software engineering, or related area and 3 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.

Primary Location...

1395 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.

About Company

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation and one of the world's largest companies by revenue. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Known for its "everyday low prices" strategy, Walmart serves millions of customers globally through its physical stores and e-commerce platforms. The company is a leader in retail innovation, supply chain management, and sustainability initiatives, offering a wide range of products including groceries, electronics, apparel, and more.