Beyond code: Accelerating the development of our engineers

AI is evolving everything, including our roles. The last two years, have brought profound transformation to how teams code and develop software, not only in how we generate it, but also in how we test it, compile it, and deploy it. Beyond development, our responsibilities are increasingly focused on ensuring the seamless operation of these systems in production. For us, this means maintaining stability and uptime at scale across our vast network of over 10,000 stores in 19 countries and the more than five million devices our associates rely on daily.

Cultivating talent in a changing landscape

This evolution necessitates a fresh perspective on how we nurture and develop our engineering talent. A well-balanced team, comprising engineers at all stages of their careers—from those just starting out to seasoned veterans—is absolutely essential. Each level brings unique skills and perspectives that contribute to a thriving engineering ecosystem.

As a company that is both people-led and tech-powered, we see technology as a powerful enabler for our associates. GenAI and Agentic AI hold immense potential to streamline and accelerate the journey toward becoming expert coders. By automating repetitive tasks, offering intelligent code suggestions, and facilitating real-time problem-solving, these technologies can significantly boost productivity and accelerate learning.

Investing in future growth

We’ve been actively investing in resources, tools, agents, classes, and access to senior talent, including fellows and distinguished engineers, to facilitate greater understanding and growth. Our developer ecosystem already includes hundreds of GenAI-powered tools designed to assist with training, learning, rapid prototyping, troubleshooting, and data analysis. 

Given the sheer volume of our operations, manually handling tasks like cleaning and maintaining our extensive catalog content is impractical. This inherent challenge underscores the importance of the AI-powered tools we're developing, and we're seeing a lot of eagerness to incorporate them into workflows from our early-career engineers, firsthand. The integration of Agentic AI will further amplify our ability to tackle intricate challenges and drive innovation.

The tangible impact is already evident: AI is reducing burdensome and repetitive tasks, saving us millions of developer hours, and empowering teams to tackle more complex challenges. We want to nurture this enthusiasm and invest in this next generation so they can advance more rapidly in their careers. 

Fostering a culture of continuous development

Our priority is to provide accessible training that prepares our associates to effectively utilize new technologies, ensuring their success both now and in the years to come. This includes providing a comprehensive suite of tools, classes, learning sessions, stretch projects, and valuable opportunities for collaboration with senior talent.

Further, our commitment to learning is reflected in initiatives like Walmart Academy, one of the world's largest learning ecosystems, Global Tech Academy and our Tech Fellows academy. These programs encompass everything from practical project-based learning to hands-on mentorship and expert-led sessions enriched with real-world experiences, all aimed at cultivating not only deep technical expertise but also strong enterprise leadership within our teams.

By adhering to these principles, we aim to cultivate an environment where our engineers can thrive, innovate, and grow alongside the rapid advancements in technology. As the pace of innovation accelerates, we firmly believe in leveraging technology in service of our people, unlocking new capabilities and creating better experiences.

Our people make the difference

In creating technology solutions, we believe in the enduring importance of keeping humans in the loop. The role of a developer is naturally evolving, shifting from hands-on coding toward more strategic guidance of AI agents and code inspection. Given the rapid advancements we're witnessing in GenAI tools, it's encouraging to see our early-career engineers readily embracing these new capabilities. We've discovered that pairing this energy with the invaluable experience of our senior engineers, who have a proven track record of building and deploying reliable production systems, is a winning combination.

Ultimately, our commitment to our people, echoing the wisdom of Sam Walton, will continue to drive us. We believe that it will take both people and technology working in tandem to deliver on our purpose: to help people save money and live better.