NLP Data Science Team Leader

Description NLP Data Science Team Leader Walmart Global Tech Israel’s presence began with Aspectiva, Walmart's first acquisition in Israel. The team is an integral part of the core of Walmart’s e-commerce platform – the largest retailer in the world. We develop state-of-the-art NLP solutions that enable millions of Walmart shoppers to make smarter and more confident buying decisions. We are looking for an experienced NLP Data Science Team Leader to lead a team of talented NLP Data Scientists and drive the development of cutting-edge NLP solutions at scale. This role combines hands-on technical leadership, people management, and strategic influence over product and research directions. Responsibilities Lead and grow a team of NLP Data Scientists Manage, mentor, and support team members’ professional development Foster a culture of excellence, ownership, and continuous learning Own end-to-end delivery of NLP solutions Oversee algorithmic features from ideation through research, development, and production Ensure high-quality, scalable, and maintainable solutions Drive technical direction and innovation Guide research efforts and evaluate new NLP/ML technologies Translate business needs into impactful NLP solutions Collaborate cross-functionally Work closely with Product, Engineering, and Business stakeholders Align team priorities with company goals and product roadmap Maintain hands-on involvement Contribute to architecture, modeling, and critical algorithmic challenges Review code, experiments, and methodologies Scale impact Improve processes, workflows, and best practices for research and production Ensure efficient use of large-scale data and infrastructure Requirements Not sure you fit all criteria? Submit anyway – let us decide! MSc in Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or equivalent experience Strong NLP expertise – Must Deep understanding of modern NLP methods (transformers, LLMs, embeddings, etc.) Proven experience delivering NLP solutions to production Leadership experience – Must 2+ years of experience managing or leading data science / ML teams Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow team members Hands-on ML/NLP experience – Must 5+ years of experience in research and implementation of ML-based solutions Strong coding skills (Python – must; Java/C#/Scala – advantage) Production experience – Must Experience deploying and maintaining ML/NLP systems in production environments Familiarity with scalable systems and data pipelines LLM + Deep Learning experience – Must Experience working and training LLMs, and deploying them at large-scale Experience with modern DL frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills Excellent communication skills Ability to communicate complex ideas to both technical and non-technical stakeholders Nice to Have Experience in e-commerce or recommendation systems Experience with experimentation, A/B testing, and product impact measurement Background in leading cross-team or cross-domain initiatives  What makes this role unique Direct impact on millions of users in one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world A rare combination of research, production, and leadership Opportunity to shape both team culture and technical direction