Tribology engineer

Western Digital is seeking a Head Tribology Engineer to work on the qualification of innovative magnetic head features that improve head-media interface quality and reliability. You will be working with cross-functional teams to develop and oversee testing of these features, lay down qualification plans and execute them in a timely manner for successful deployment in the HDD product.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with Head ABS (Air Bearing Surface), HOC (Head Over Coat) and TM (Thermo-Mechanical) design teams to support qualification of tribology enablers critical to improving interface reliability.
• Responsible for developing qualification plans, communicating to world-wide teams to get agreement, launch builds and follow up on schedules to ensure successfully deployment of features for the product.
• Work with characterization teams to devise component tests which help to accurately assess the benefits and risk of enablers before they are deployed in the product.
• Set up evaluation systems to investigate head overcoat surface properties and tribology performance. Need to have ability to understand and perform complex lifetime analysis including predictions.
• Devise component level tests to assess head lifetime related to tribological wear. Must be able to interpret results from nano-scale material analysis techniques such as AFM, SEM, TEM, Auger to assess wear and failures.
• Drive failure mode analysis and implement corrective actions (FMEA, root cause analysis).
• Work with HDD tribology integration team to qualify enablers in the product. Perform correlations between component and HDD test results.
• Organize complex technical information and clearly communicate findings either verbally or through written reports and presentations.
• Participate in design reviews and provide technical expertise to support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Create detailed technical documentation, including specifications related to head tribology for high volume manufacturing.

REQUIRED

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, EE, Material science, Physics, Chemistry, or equivalent with 8-10 years industry experience.
• Experience in Tribology, interface design, tribology testing and material analysis.
• Awareness of magnetic recording fundamentals
• Knowledge of head/media interface challenges in ePMR and HAMR technology
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with attention to detail.

SKILLS

• Data analysis and statistical tools such as JMP or Minitab.
• Knowledge of nano-scale material analysis techniques such as AFM, SEM, TEM, Auger etc.
• Project management experience and familiarity with cross-functional team coordination.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple projects efficiently.
• Ability to be flexible and thrive in fast-paced development environment with a positive, can-do attitude.

Salary Range

145,800.00-194,400.00

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®, and WD_BLACK™.

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.

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination 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.

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 believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. 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 our hiring process. Please contact us at jobs.accommodations@wdc.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 08/06/2026 (3 months from posting), although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application 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.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

• An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
• The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York.  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.  You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned.

• You will be eligible to be considered for bonuses under either WD’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STI Plan”) or the Sales Incentive Plan (“SIP”) which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance, depending on your role and your performance. You may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to WD's Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.

• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the WD Savings 401(k) Plan.
• Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Notice To Candidates: Please be aware that WD and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. Should you encounter any such requests, please report it immediately to WD Ethics Helpline or email compliance@wdc.com.