USA) Principal, Data Scientist in Bentonville, Arkansas

Principal Data Scientist

Walmart is seeking a Principal Data Scientist to lead advanced analytics initiatives that drive strategic business decisions. This role involves developing and deploying machine learning models, performing complex data analysis, and collaborating across functions to translate business challenges into data-driven solutions. The ideal candidate will apply expertise in statistical modeling, software engineering, and data visualization to deliver impactful insights. Additionally, this position requires mentoring team members, ensuring model robustness, and supporting scalable deployment to enhance Walmart's data capabilities and operational effectiveness.

The team at Sam's Club Applied AI Labs develops advanced AI solutions that empower merchants and club teams to make faster, data-driven decisions. The team delivers impactful machine learning and agentic tools across assortment, pricing, and replenishment, transforming data into actionable insights used daily throughout the business. Operating with high ownership, the team manages projects end to end, focusing on real-world adoption and measurable impact.

Members collaborate closely to build scalable AI systems that drive business value, continuously innovating and deploying solutions that enhance operational efficiency and decision-making across the organization.

What you'll do:

• Architect and scale agentic AI copilots that help merchants and business teams make faster, sharper decisions.
• Design and ship LLM and agentic systems - tool-calling, retrieval, multi-step reasoning - from prototype to production.
• Build rigorous evaluation, guardrails, and observability so AI solutions stay accurate, safe, and trusted at scale.
• Turn complex business workflows and large datasets into reliable, high-impact AI capabilities.
• Partner with product, engineering, and business stakeholders to translate real problems into technical solutions.
• Set technical direction and mentor data scientists on agentic AI, modeling, and engineering best practices.

What you'll bring:

• Deep experience building and deploying machine learning and LLM/agentic systems in production.
• Strong Python and SQL, with solid software engineering and MLOps/LLMOps skills.
• Hands-on expertise with agentic frameworks, tool-calling, retrieval-augmented generation, and prompt and evaluation design.
• Proven ability to design evaluation, guardrails, and observability for generative AI.
• Skill translating ambiguous business needs into scalable, well-architected AI solutions.
• A track record of technical leadership - setting direction, raising the bar, and mentoring teams.
• A bias for impact: you measure success by real adoption and business outcomes, not demos.

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  - 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.