They Came Back to Build What’s Next

What happens after the internship? Meet the associates building technology at Walmart and the careers taking shape alongside it.

Claudia Espejo had barely picked up her new Walmart badge when she spotted two familiar faces.

Ava Muffaleto and Reese Brady had interned alongside her the previous summer. Now, after graduating from MIT, Ohio State and Lafayette University, the three friends were back, this time as full-time software engineers.

They were among 76 new Walmart Global Tech associates who first came to Walmart through its internship program and returned last week to start full-time roles across software engineering, data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, platforms, product and infrastructure.

They came together for Welcome Week, a chance to meet their new teams, reconnect with familiar faces and begin imagining where the many directions a career in technology can take.

Starting With Work That Matters 

For Walmart Global Tech’s newest associates, that path began with internships designed around meaningful work. 

Across the cohort, interns contributed to real systems and learned how technology supports customers, associates and communities at Walmart’s scale. Some helped build platforms and infrastructure. Others worked across cybersecurity, data, AI, product and software engineering. 

As interns, Ava helped build a tool that identifies the root cause of server issues; Reese worked on cryptography that helps protect payment information; and Claudia learned how orders move through Walmart’s systems. 

The experience offered more than an introduction to the company. It gave them an early view into how many disciplines, teams and technical specialties come together to solve problems across Walmart. 

It also showed them how much room there is to grow.

“New grads are very nervous to enter the workforce,” Claudia said. “Knowing that a company is there to fully support you and be on your side throughout your career, that’s what made me want to come back and start my career here.” 

“You’re Joining at One of the Most Exciting Moments in Technology”

During Welcome Week, the new associates heard from Walmart leaders, technologists and associates whose own careers have evolved across engineering, product, data, AI and other disciplines.

"You have joined at a time when the industry is transforming, the company is transforming and you can have a huge impact, while learning,” Suresh said. “Technology, and AI, is changing how we build, solve problems and serve customers, and you'll have the opportunity to help shape what comes next.”

Their arrival comes as Walmart’s first Jobs Spotlight report highlights the technology roles helping shape the company’s future. Data engineering is among the careers featured in the report, reflecting the importance of the data foundations behind AI, personalization and decision-making at scale.

But this year’s class also illustrates how many different technologists it takes to build the future of retail. The cohort spans software engineering, data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, platforms, product and infrastructure roles across Walmart Global Tech.

Careers Rarely Follow a Straight Line

A week spent welcoming new associates naturally raises a bigger question: What might come next?

The answer is rarely a single, predictable path.

Just ask Lisbeth Echeverria, one of the associates who shared her career journey during Welcome Week. Lisbeth began her Walmart career as an Online Pickup & Delivery associate in a store. After studying computer science, she moved into Walmart Global Tech. Today, she is a software engineer helping build the systems that pay Walmart associates.

Her path into technology was not traditional, but the experience she gained in stores continues to shape the way she approaches the systems she now helps build.

Learning From the People Around You

Lisbeth’s story offered the newest class an important reminder: For Claudia, Ava, Reese and the other former interns returning as full-time associates, the next chapter will be shaped by more than the roles they hold today.

It will be shaped by the people they meet, the questions they ask and the perspectives they gather along the way.

That might mean shadowing another team, seeking advice from a more experienced technologist or learning how a different part of the business connects to the system they are building. For Reese, that approach already made a difference during her internship.

“I shadowed so many people laterally in the company,” she said. “That helped me understand InfoSec as a whole so much better, getting other people’s perspectives and getting other advice. There’s so many people at this company from so many different places in the world. You can learn so much.”

That may be the most important lesson for this year’s class: No one has to arrive with an entire career mapped out.

For now, these 76 are at the beginning. They’re building strong foundations, learning from the people around them and staying open to where their first opportunities might lead next.