Technologist Firmware Development

Role Overview

Alternate locations: San Jose CA or Longmont CO

We are seeking an experienced Technologist to join our HDD Firmware Engineering team at Western this dynamic role you will contribute to the development and optimization of firmware for our cutting-edge HDD (Hard Disk Drive) products. You will act as a key player in driving innovation reliability and performance improvements across our storage solutions portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Design develop and debug firmware for HDD technologies ensuring functionality reliability and efficiency.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (e.g. hardware engineers validation teams and architects) to define firmware requirements and deliver products in alignment with project goals.
• Perform system-level debugging to analyze and resolve firmware issues impacting product performance or operational reliability.
• Contribute to the development of technical documentation architecture designs and code reviews to support the lifecycle of firmware projects.
• Utilize AI-assisted coding tools to enhance firmware coding efficiency and gain insights into advanced debugging methodologies.
• Mentor and guide firmware team members to ensure alignment team growth and professional development.
• Collaborate on storage performance evaluations to improve HDD firmware functionalities and support various customer and data-intensive applications.

Qualifications :

Educational Background:

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Electrical Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science or a related field.

Technical Skills:

• Expertise in firmware or embedded software development with focus on C/C/ Python coding.
• Solid debugging skills (using tools such as JTAG ICE bus analyzers) and experience troubleshooting complex system issues.
• Must have hands on experience in storage technologies including HDD architecture and interface protocols like SATA SAS and NVMe.
• Exposure to and familiarity with AI coding assistants (e.g. GitHub Copilot Windsurf Cursor or similar tools).
• Experience in large-scale firmware projects within the storage industry or similar domains.
• Experience with performance optimization and storage system firmware processes.

General Skills:

• Proven mentorship and team leadership experience to guide engineers through challenging development and debugging tasks.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with attention to detail and the ability to work in a fast-paced and innovative environment.
• Effective communication skills to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams.
• Knowledge of software development processes such as Agile methodologies.

Additional Information :

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate 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 persons gender identity gender expression and gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the persons 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 Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster.

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 to advise us of your accommodation 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.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

• An employees 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 WDs 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 WDs 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 Companys sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Companys 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 .

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time