OPT Principal Devops Engineer Jobs
Principal DevOps Engineer roles on OPT require demonstrating senior-level ownership of CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and platform reliability. Most employers filing H-1B visa or O-1 visa sponsorship for this title expect hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, Terraform, or AWS. Your 12-month STEM OPT extension window is where hiring decisions get made.
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As a Principal Engineer in Walmart’s Fraud and Risk platform, you will define and drive the architecture of next-generation fraud and risk prevention systems at massive scale. You will lead the design of platforms that combine real-time decisioning, entity intelligence, agentic AI, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
This role requires deep technical leadership, owning architecture across systems and enabling teams to build scalable, intelligent, and explainable fraud prevention platforms.
About Team: The Inkiru team's mission is to detect and prevent Fraud in real time and enable a safe shopping experience for all our customers online and in-store. We are a team of passionate Engineers, Data scientists and Product managers who love to challenge each other but work together to build a platform to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. As an engineer on the team, you will help build systems that can process data at the scale of Walmart to derive insights in milliseconds that power lightning-fast detection of fraudsters. You will have the opportunity to work closely with our data scientists, Product Managers, business partners and systems engineers to drive the definition and implementation of platform services, applications and analytics tools for our predictive intelligence platform.
What you'll do:
Define Architecture for Fraud & Risk Platforms
- Lead system design for real-time fraud detection and policy enforcement
- Architect entity resolution and graph intelligence systems
- Design agentic AI platforms for automated fraud analysis and reasoning
- Shape case management and orchestration systems for investigations
Drive AI-Native System Design
- Define patterns for integrating ML models and AI agents into production
- Lead development of explainability frameworks for fraud decisions
- Enable scalable systems for model deployment, evaluation, and iteration
Own Cross-System Strategy
- Align architecture across Gateway, Platform, and Data Science teams
- Define integration patterns for real-time and batch systems
- Ensure systems meet requirements for latency, reliability, and scalability
Lead Technical Direction
- Drive architectural standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices
- Guide teams through complex technical decisions and tradeoffs
- Establish long-term technical vision aligned with business goals
Mentor & Influence
- Mentor senior and staff engineers across teams
- Influence hiring, engineering culture, and technical excellence
- Act as a thought leader in fraud, risk, and AI-driven systems
What you'll bring:
Proven track record of architecting and scaling large distributed systems
- Deep expertise in system design, platform engineering, and microservices architecture
- Strong experience with real-time decision systems and high-throughput architectures
- Experience architecting systems that operationalize ML models at scale
- Strong understanding of ML-driven decisioning systems and tradeoffs (rules vs models)
- Familiarity with fraud/risk systems, identity systems, or trust & safety domains
- Experience with entity resolution, graph systems, or behavioral analytics (strong plus)
- Ability to drive alignment and influence across organizations
- Strong technical judgment with a focus on long-term scalability and maintainability
About Walmart Global Tech
Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That’s what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We’re a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity experts and service professionals within the world’s leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations.
We are people-led and tech-empowered. We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail.
Walmart’s culture is a competitive advantage, and it’s fostered by being together. Working together in person allows us to collaborate, align quickly and innovate with greater speed. We use our campuses to create purposeful connection rooted in deepening understanding and investing in the development of our associates.
Our hubs: Walmart is a global company with offices across the United States and around the world. Our global headquarters is in Bentonville, Arkansas, with primary hubs in the San Francisco Bay area and New York/New Jersey.
Benefits:
Beyond our great compensation package, you can receive incentive awards for your performance. Other great perks include 401(k) match, stock purchase plan, paid maternity and parental leave, PTO, multiple health plans, and much more.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer – By Choice. We believe we are best equipped to help our associates, customers, and the communities we serve live better when we really know them. That means understanding, respecting, and valuing unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas, and opinions – while being inclusive of all people.
The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed in the role. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The full Job Description can be made available as part of the hiring process.
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:
- Stock
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
809 11th Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-4731, 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.
Position Summary
As a Principal Engineer in Walmart’s Fraud and Risk platform, you will define and drive the architecture of next-generation fraud and risk prevention systems at massive scale. You will lead the design of platforms that combine real-time decisioning, entity intelligence, agentic AI, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
This role requires deep technical leadership, owning architecture across systems and enabling teams to build scalable, intelligent, and explainable fraud prevention platforms.
About Team: The Inkiru team's mission is to detect and prevent Fraud in real time and enable a safe shopping experience for all our customers online and in-store. We are a team of passionate Engineers, Data scientists and Product managers who love to challenge each other but work together to build a platform to find the proverbial needle in a haystack. As an engineer on the team, you will help build systems that can process data at the scale of Walmart to derive insights in milliseconds that power lightning-fast detection of fraudsters. You will have the opportunity to work closely with our data scientists, Product Managers, business partners and systems engineers to drive the definition and implementation of platform services, applications and analytics tools for our predictive intelligence platform.
What you'll do:
Define Architecture for Fraud & Risk Platforms
- Lead system design for real-time fraud detection and policy enforcement
- Architect entity resolution and graph intelligence systems
- Design agentic AI platforms for automated fraud analysis and reasoning
- Shape case management and orchestration systems for investigations
Drive AI-Native System Design
- Define patterns for integrating ML models and AI agents into production
- Lead development of explainability frameworks for fraud decisions
- Enable scalable systems for model deployment, evaluation, and iteration
Own Cross-System Strategy
- Align architecture across Gateway, Platform, and Data Science teams
- Define integration patterns for real-time and batch systems
- Ensure systems meet requirements for latency, reliability, and scalability
Lead Technical Direction
- Drive architectural standards, design patterns, and engineering best practices
- Guide teams through complex technical decisions and tradeoffs
- Establish long-term technical vision aligned with business goals
Mentor & Influence
- Mentor senior and staff engineers across teams
- Influence hiring, engineering culture, and technical excellence
- Act as a thought leader in fraud, risk, and AI-driven systems
What you'll bring:
Proven track record of architecting and scaling large distributed systems
- Deep expertise in system design, platform engineering, and microservices architecture
- Strong experience with real-time decision systems and high-throughput architectures
- Experience architecting systems that operationalize ML models at scale
- Strong understanding of ML-driven decisioning systems and tradeoffs (rules vs models)
- Familiarity with fraud/risk systems, identity systems, or trust & safety domains
- Experience with entity resolution, graph systems, or behavioral analytics (strong plus)
- Ability to drive alignment and influence across organizations
- Strong technical judgment with a focus on long-term scalability and maintainability
About Walmart Global Tech
Imagine working in an environment where one line of code can make life easier for hundreds of millions of people. That’s what we do at Walmart Global Tech. We’re a team of software engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity experts and service professionals within the world’s leading retailer who make an epic impact and are at the forefront of the next retail disruption. People are why we innovate, and people power our innovations.
We are people-led and tech-empowered. We train our team in the skillsets of the future and bring in experts like you to help us grow. We have roles for those chasing their first opportunity as well as those looking for the opportunity that will define their career. Here, you can kickstart a great career in tech, gain new skills and experience for virtually every industry, or leverage your expertise to innovate at scale, impact millions and reimagine the future of retail.
Walmart’s culture is a competitive advantage, and it’s fostered by being together. Working together in person allows us to collaborate, align quickly and innovate with greater speed. We use our campuses to create purposeful connection rooted in deepening understanding and investing in the development of our associates.
Our hubs: Walmart is a global company with offices across the United States and around the world. Our global headquarters is in Bentonville, Arkansas, with primary hubs in the San Francisco Bay area and New York/New Jersey.
Benefits:
Beyond our great compensation package, you can receive incentive awards for your performance. Other great perks include 401(k) match, stock purchase plan, paid maternity and parental leave, PTO, multiple health plans, and much more.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Walmart, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer – By Choice. We believe we are best equipped to help our associates, customers, and the communities we serve live better when we really know them. That means understanding, respecting, and valuing unique styles, experiences, identities, ideas, and opinions – while being inclusive of all people.
The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed in the role. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The full Job Description can be made available as part of the hiring process.
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:
- Stock
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
809 11th Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-4731, 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.
See all OPT Principal Devops Engineer Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Principal Devops Engineer Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship as a Principal Devops Engineer
Lead with infrastructure ownership, not task execution
Principal-level DevOps roles require demonstrating that you have owned platforms end-to-end, not just contributed to them. Quantify uptime improvements, migration scope, or cost reductions you drove directly. Employers sponsoring at this level expect autonomous decision-making, not team participation.
Target companies with active STEM OPT hiring patterns
Large tech firms, cloud-native startups, and financial services companies file the most H-1B visa petitions for DevOps titles. Prioritize employers with a documented history of sponsoring senior engineers. Hiring patterns from prior years are a reliable signal of sponsorship willingness at this level.
Apply during your first OPT year, not the final months
Principal DevOps roles have longer hiring cycles due to multiple interview rounds and committee approvals. Starting your search early gives employers enough runway to complete the process before your OPT expires. Waiting until the final quarter significantly reduces your options.
Certifications accelerate credibility at the principal level
AWS Solutions Architect Professional, CKA, or HashiCorp Terraform Associate certifications signal depth that resumes alone cannot. For OPT candidates without a U.S. work history, certifications from recognized bodies reduce employer hesitation and strengthen your technical credibility during evaluation.
Address sponsorship directly and confidently in recruiter calls
Senior hiring managers at principal-level understand visa sponsorship better than most. State your OPT status and STEM extension eligibility upfront. Ambiguity wastes everyone's time. Confident, clear communication about your timeline positions you as organized and serious, not as a liability.
Build a portfolio of platform decisions, not just implementations
Principal engineers are hired for judgment, not just execution. Document architectural decisions you have made, trade-offs you evaluated, and outcomes that followed. A GitHub repository showing infrastructure-as-code projects alongside written decision rationale is far more compelling than a list of tools used.
Principal Devops Engineer OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work as Principal DevOps Engineers without a visa sponsor on day one?
Yes. F-1 OPT authorization lets you work for any employer in a role directly related to your degree without employer sponsorship during the OPT period itself. Principal DevOps Engineer roles typically qualify under computer science, information systems, or engineering degrees. You will need sponsorship only if you intend to continue working after OPT and your STEM extension period expire.
Does the Principal DevOps Engineer title qualify for a STEM OPT extension?
It depends on your degree field, not the job title alone. If your degree is in computer science, electrical engineering, information technology, or a related STEM field, and the role involves applying that knowledge directly, it will generally qualify. Your DSO must authorize the extension, and your employer must be enrolled in E-Verify. Most tech employers hiring at this level already meet that requirement.
Where can OPT students find Principal DevOps Engineer roles at companies open to sponsorship?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT and international students seeking roles at sponsorship-willing employers. The platform filters for companies with active OPT and H-1B hiring history, so you are not cold-applying to employers who will immediately screen you out. Principal DevOps Engineer listings on Migrate Mate are curated for international candidates navigating the sponsorship process.
Will the seniority of a Principal DevOps Engineer title affect my H-1B sponsorship chances?
Seniority generally helps. Principal-level roles carry higher prevailing wage requirements, which some employers find more straightforward to justify under LCA filings. More importantly, employers investing in H-1B sponsorship prefer candidates with demonstrated long-term value, and a principal designation signals that the employer sees you as a critical hire, not a replaceable resource.
What happens to my OPT authorization if my Principal DevOps Engineer employer does a layoff?
Your OPT authorization remains valid, but you enter a 60-day unemployment grace period. You must find a new qualifying employer within that window or risk falling out of status. At the principal level, a well-maintained professional network and documented infrastructure accomplishments significantly speed up re-employment. Start your search immediately and notify your DSO about the employment gap.