Western Digital
Senior Engineer, Wafer Manufacturing Metrology
Western Digital, San Jose, California, United States, 95199
Company Description
At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.
At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that—our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first‑ever picture of a black hole.
We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, WD_BLACK™, and SanDisk® Professional brands.
We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest‑growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever‑growing data storage needs of the AI era, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.
Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage.
Job Description Essential Duties and Responsibilities As a metrology engineer, you will be responsible for developing and implementing precise, robust, and high‑throughput solutions to control high volume manufacturing of complex, three dimensional thin film magnetic read/write head structures. This includes developing automated device inspection recipes to detect defects with machine learning and spectroscopic ellipsometer models to measure thin film thickness and index. You will collaborate closely with process engineering teams that support wafer manufacturing operations.
Work independently with minimal supervision in the Manufacturing Metrology group.
Develop, document, optimize, and sustain automated inspection recipes and process control solutions.
Develop and refine technical methods/processes to identify root causes of operational issues, process inefficiencies, and measurement deviations.
Establish accurate baseline measurements and qualification of metrology solutions by collaborating with cross‑functional teams across the fab.
Deploy robust metrology system calibration and correlation strategies.
Identify and resolve equipment issues, collaborating with equipment engineering teams and tool vendors to ensure optimal tool performance.
Cross‑train within Metrology Engineering to ensure seamless support coverage across teams.
Partner with engineering and quality teams to analyze real‑time metrology data, identify process deviations, and implement automated corrective strategies to improve yield and reduce cycle time.
Summarize, document, and present results to technical and executive audiences to drive data‑driven improvements.
Communicate effectively with both management and shop floor.
Display comfort and skill in presenting issues/findings.
Qualifications Required:
B.S. or M.S. in physics, chemistry, engineering (chemical, mechanical, electrical), material science.
Minimum of 0‑3 years of work experience, depending on education.
Programming/scripting experience in SQL, Python, Matlab, JSL, C#, etc. required.
Strong detail‑oriented work habits.
Ability to complete projects on schedule.
Practical understanding of electronics and mechatronics as applied to modern industrial measurement tools.
Preferred:
Hands‑on experience with clean room and wafer fabrication/processing.
Practical knowledge of image processing (filtering, FFT, convolution, re‑sampling, cropping, etc.) and computer vision (edge detection, object detection, feature matching, segmentation, thresholding, etc.).
Experience in machine learning (unsupervised, supervised, classification, neural networks, etc.) and optimizing defect capture rate by confusion matrix analysis.
Skills
Excellent skills in problem solving, data analysis, statistics, and both written and oral communications.
Additional Information Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status, disability, mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above.
Our nondiscrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal" poster. Our pay transparency policy is available
here
(https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/equal-pay-protections).
Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect, and contribution.
Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@wdc.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number.
Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be
11/27/25 , although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.
#LI-RR1
Compensation & Benefits Details
An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors, including relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, ability, knowledge of the job, performance, contribution, results, geographic location, shift, internal and external equity, and business and organizational needs.
The salary range is the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of posting. This range may be modified in the future.
If your position is non‑exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws. Shift differential pay may apply.
You may be eligible for bonuses under Western Digital’s Short Term Incentive Plan (STI) or the Sales Incentive Plan (SIP) based on performance. You may also participate in the annual Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) program (restricted stock units or cash equivalents), where eligible.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation, paid sick leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life, accident, disability insurance, tax‑advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts, employee assistance program, benefits such as supplemental life, AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity, tuition reimbursement, transit, the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.
Note: No amount of pay is considered wages or compensation until earned, vested, and determinable. Bonus, commission, benefits, and other compensation are at the company’s discretion.
Notice To Candidates Western Digital and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. If you encounter such requests, report it immediately to the Western Digital Ethics Helpline (https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/48999/index.html) or email compliance@wdc.com.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that—our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first‑ever picture of a black hole.
We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, WD_BLACK™, and SanDisk® Professional brands.
We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest‑growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever‑growing data storage needs of the AI era, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.
Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage.
Job Description Essential Duties and Responsibilities As a metrology engineer, you will be responsible for developing and implementing precise, robust, and high‑throughput solutions to control high volume manufacturing of complex, three dimensional thin film magnetic read/write head structures. This includes developing automated device inspection recipes to detect defects with machine learning and spectroscopic ellipsometer models to measure thin film thickness and index. You will collaborate closely with process engineering teams that support wafer manufacturing operations.
Work independently with minimal supervision in the Manufacturing Metrology group.
Develop, document, optimize, and sustain automated inspection recipes and process control solutions.
Develop and refine technical methods/processes to identify root causes of operational issues, process inefficiencies, and measurement deviations.
Establish accurate baseline measurements and qualification of metrology solutions by collaborating with cross‑functional teams across the fab.
Deploy robust metrology system calibration and correlation strategies.
Identify and resolve equipment issues, collaborating with equipment engineering teams and tool vendors to ensure optimal tool performance.
Cross‑train within Metrology Engineering to ensure seamless support coverage across teams.
Partner with engineering and quality teams to analyze real‑time metrology data, identify process deviations, and implement automated corrective strategies to improve yield and reduce cycle time.
Summarize, document, and present results to technical and executive audiences to drive data‑driven improvements.
Communicate effectively with both management and shop floor.
Display comfort and skill in presenting issues/findings.
Qualifications Required:
B.S. or M.S. in physics, chemistry, engineering (chemical, mechanical, electrical), material science.
Minimum of 0‑3 years of work experience, depending on education.
Programming/scripting experience in SQL, Python, Matlab, JSL, C#, etc. required.
Strong detail‑oriented work habits.
Ability to complete projects on schedule.
Practical understanding of electronics and mechatronics as applied to modern industrial measurement tools.
Preferred:
Hands‑on experience with clean room and wafer fabrication/processing.
Practical knowledge of image processing (filtering, FFT, convolution, re‑sampling, cropping, etc.) and computer vision (edge detection, object detection, feature matching, segmentation, thresholding, etc.).
Experience in machine learning (unsupervised, supervised, classification, neural networks, etc.) and optimizing defect capture rate by confusion matrix analysis.
Skills
Excellent skills in problem solving, data analysis, statistics, and both written and oral communications.
Additional Information Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status, disability, mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above.
Our nondiscrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal" poster. Our pay transparency policy is available
here
(https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/equal-pay-protections).
Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect, and contribution.
Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@wdc.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number.
Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be
11/27/25 , although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.
#LI-RR1
Compensation & Benefits Details
An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors, including relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, ability, knowledge of the job, performance, contribution, results, geographic location, shift, internal and external equity, and business and organizational needs.
The salary range is the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of posting. This range may be modified in the future.
If your position is non‑exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws. Shift differential pay may apply.
You may be eligible for bonuses under Western Digital’s Short Term Incentive Plan (STI) or the Sales Incentive Plan (SIP) based on performance. You may also participate in the annual Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) program (restricted stock units or cash equivalents), where eligible.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation, paid sick leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life, accident, disability insurance, tax‑advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts, employee assistance program, benefits such as supplemental life, AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity, tuition reimbursement, transit, the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.
Note: No amount of pay is considered wages or compensation until earned, vested, and determinable. Bonus, commission, benefits, and other compensation are at the company’s discretion.
Notice To Candidates Western Digital and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. If you encounter such requests, report it immediately to the Western Digital Ethics Helpline (https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/48999/index.html) or email compliance@wdc.com.
#J-18808-Ljbffr