Walmart Product Manager (PM) Interview Guide
Updated by Walmart Labs candidates
Walmart probably doesn’t spring to mind when contemplating tech jobs, but don’t rule it out. Despite COVID’s significant retail shake-up, Walmart's size and revenue still dwarfs Amazon’s. Walmart Plus is directly taking on Prime. It has even attempted to buy TikTok.
With such strong innovative ambitions, Walmart is in constant need of well-qualified Product Managers (PMs) across its many verticals. As a PM, you will help carry out Walmart’s mission to “save money, live better” by helping develop products that improve the retail experience for hundreds of millions of daily shoppers.
Below, we cover how to prepare for a Walmart Product Manager interview, from the initial phone screening to its complete interview loop.
This guide was written with the help of a product manager at Walmart.
What does a Walmart PM do?
Because there are so many PMs throughout Walmart, your tasks will depend on the department and your seniority.
Some positions focus on general product management while others develop or improve specific Walmart products. Depending on the position, you might find yourself at the frontlines of Walmart’s new generative AI products or improving the online shopping experience.
For example, one job posting for a Senior Product Manager in the U.S. focuses on developing AI products for Walmart’s business partners. Another posting for a Product Manager III has a broader focus on using data to develop products that will improve Walmart’s B2B relationships.
More generally, PMs understand Walmart’s customers and stakeholders and work tirelessly to advocate for their needs. They work alongside Walmart’s business, engineering, programming, supply chain, and design partners to help develop projects that improve customer and business partners’ experiences.
Browse PM openings at Walmart for role-specific insights.
Walmart PM salaries depend on the seniority level and department. Here are a few sample salaries pulled directly from job listings on Walmart’s website:
- Product Manager III: $90,000-$180,000
- Manager, Product Development - Women’s Fashion: $108,000-$216,000
- Senior Product Manager: $117,000-$234,000
- Manager II, Product Management: $136,000-$200,000
What are the typical job requirements for a Walmart PM?
Most Walmart PM positions require at least 3 years of experience in product management or a related field, plus a bachelor’s degree in:
- Computer science
- Business
- Engineering
- Computer engineering
Not all roles require a product background, but it is preferred for more senior-level positions. Senior positions usually require at least 5 years of related experience alone, or some experience plus a master’s degree in:
- Computer science
- Business management
- Engineering
According to a current Walmart PM, about 30-40% of new hires have an MBA, but this is not required. As long as you have experience in a customer-focused, strategic position where you executed projects successfully, you’ll be a strong candidate for one of these positions.
Walmart mainly looks for the following qualities in a candidate. Some of these qualifications will be dependent on the PM position you apply for:
- Experience in project management
- Successful execution of new products
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills
- Data expertise that allows you to solve problems and provide insight into product success
- Exceptional problem-solving skills
- Strong strategy mindset
- Relentlessly customer-focused
Recommendations before you apply for Walmart PM roles
- Get to know the department you’re interviewing for. Since Walmart’s PMs are distributed throughout the company, it’s important to do some research on which department best suits your qualifications and interests. Walmart’s product teams include Associate Product, Last Mile Delivery, Digital Services, Merchant & Inventory Product, Next Gen, Customer Data & Platforms, Walmart Connect, and Sam’s Club. Find out more about each team on Walmart’s product management page.
- Familiarize yourself with Walmart’s values. Spend some time learning about Walmart’s history and values on its website. Your embodiment of these values and shared priorities makes you a stronger candidate. Walmart PM hiring teams pay particularly close attention to your focus on customer satisfaction and DEI.
- Revamp your resume. Communication and storytelling skills are critical for Walmart PM positions. Your resume is the perfect way to demonstrate this from the very beginning. Tell a coherent, compelling story around the experiences listed on your resume, and why you’re an ideal candidate for Walmart.
- Practice with mock interviews. Exponent's coaching services are your best friend. Don’t limit your pool of mock partners to other PMs and peers in tech. Grab a non-tech friend and describe the most recent project you spearheaded. Communicating effectively with both your peers and non-technical collaborators will be critical for your growth on the job.
- Lean on your community. Find a few Walmart PMs on Exponent or LinkedIn and ask them about their experiences. They’ve gone through what you’re going through now, and they’re great sources of information and support.
Interview Process
The interview process for most Walmart PM positions is divided into four stages and takes place over approximately 2 months:
- An initial screening with a recruiter
- An interview with a hiring manager
- An interview loop that takes place virtually with two rounds of interviews, including product sense and leadership and behavioral questions
Sometimes, if hiring managers can’t decide between a few candidates, the department director will speak with the candidate in a final interview round.
Recruiter Phone Screen
The first stage with a recruiter is a short, 30-minute phone call aimed at addressing basic background questions to ensure that you’re a good fit for Walmart. For example, the recruiter may ask about your expected start date and eligibility to work in the United States.
Hiring Manager Interview
The second 30-minute interview with a Walmart hiring manager will focus on culture fit, experience, and behavioral questions. This section gauges whether your previous work experience and approach to the job make you an eligible fit for the position before moving forward with deeper case studies and skills-based questions.
To prepare for culture-fit questions, we recommend you browse Walmart’s History, Values, and Impact pages before crafting your answers. Walmart is older than many tech brands, so if you can speak to their history and values, you’ll be well-positioned to explain why you’re an asset.
Current PMs also recommend familiarity with Walmart’s retail and eCommerce businesses, its customer base, and recent news and developments about the company.
Be prepared to answer questions like:
Asked at 
Asked at Product Sense
Next are two hour-long interviews via videoconference with two PMs. The first interview will focus on your product sense and project management skills to assess how you would approach the job.
Spend some time playing around with Walmart’s website so you’re comfortable and familiar with its products ahead of the interview. Candidates who prepare product recommendations ahead of the interview are “highly preferred,” according to our PM insider.
The interviewers might give you a fairly open-ended, domain-specific case study ahead of time to present during this interview stage. Previous insiders said they had 3-4 days to prepare their case study. After the presentation, panel members will ask questions meant to gauge your ability to prioritize, navigate uncertainty, and maintain a positive group dynamic.
Above all else, Walmart is looking for customer-centric PMs who will champion positive customer experiences. Keep this in mind, and you’ll do well.
Here are a few sample questions for the product sense interview round:
Asked at Walmart Labs Asked at Walmart Labs Asked at Walmart Labs If given a case study, you may be asked:
- What metrics would you use to measure the success of this product?
- Which metrics will feature X impact?
How to prepare
Because PMs are responsible for big decisions, your ability to understand product strategy and analyze data is important. Make sure to:
- Demonstrate competency in defining metrics.
- Show that you understand what to do when metrics change.
- Be methodical and show that you make data-driven decisions.
The key to success in these interviews is starting at a high level with the goals of the product, and then drilling deeper into actions and metrics. We recommend employing the GAME framework for key metrics questions, as demonstrated in our PM lesson about analytical questions.
You may also get a few estimation questions, where interviewers want to see the logic behind your estimations. These can also test your ability to size a potential market.
While these questions may at first seem ridiculous, the interviewer isn't looking to see if your answer is right. Rather, the interviewer wants to see how you are approaching the question. Don’t be afraid to:
- Ask clarifying questions.
- Break down the problem.
- Make reasonable assumptions if needed.
Practice analytical interview questions in Exponent's interview question database.
Leadership and Collaboration
The second virtual interview with PMs has a stronger focus on behavioral questions, leadership and communication skills, and cultural fit. No matter what department you’re in across Walmart, you’ll be leading projects alongside a team of colleagues with a range of skill sets.
In this stage, you may face problem-solving questions more centered on leadership or successfully carrying out a project with a team.
Sample questions for this interview include:
How to prepare
This stage of the interview process is largely made up of behavioral questions. The purpose is to get to know you—how you work with others, how you handle challenges, and whether you’ll act according to Walmart’s values and company culture.
A good starting point in preparing for these questions is to dump your resume into a spreadsheet and create a STAR-based story around each bullet point. Make sure you’ll be able to address questions about your weaknesses, interpersonal skills, and what you’ve learned from failures.
One Walmart PM hire reported that his ability to stay on track and consistently bring the conversation back to the relevance of his experience was a major asset. It can be easy to get sidetracked when speaking about your work, but always keep the goal in mind: you want to position yourself as an ideal fit for Walmart.
Practice behavioral interview questions in Exponent’s interview question database.
Tips and Strategies
- Know Walmart’s history, mission, and values, and speak to how you embody each. In 2016, Walmart outlined a new set of shared value priorities and aspirations for 2025. Aimed at building a better world, they include: creating opportunity; building a more sustainable future; advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion; bringing communities closer together; and reflecting ethics and integrity. You should have at least two examples prepared to corroborate why you embody each value, and how the mission resonates with you. You’ll face a lot of "tell me about x” questions, so take the time to reframe your experience through a Walmart lens and you’ll answer these questions with ease.
- Walmart takes DEI seriously when screening PMs. We recommend familiarizing yourself with Walmart’s customer base and how Walmart addresses diversity and inclusion within the company and among its customers around the world. Keep in mind your coworkers who come from a range of backgrounds when crafting your behavioral and leadership-related answers. Dedicate parts of your responses to how you would be mindful of Walmart’s diverse customer base when developing new products.
- Prioritize product strategy/design preparation. Walmart cares more about your product sense than your technical abilities. Focus on product prep: go in with a solid understanding of Walmart’s innovations (read their Global Tech blog for inspiration) and a game plan for product design and strategy questions catered to Walmart’s mission.
- Get to know your interviewers and ask lots of questions. Walmart’s case study and product questions are both intentionally vague. Interviewers expect you to ask questions. Don’t hold back.
Additional Resources
Learn everything you need to ace your Product Manager interviews.
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