Materials Research Engineer -- Principal Engineer

Western Digital•San Jose, CA

6d•$140,300 - $187,000•Onsite

About The Position

This position is in Western Digital Research, a world-class research laboratory in San Jose, California with ~80 employees. Research activities in the lab focus on all aspects of information storage, sensors, spintronics, superconducting devices, non-volatile memory, and AI compute architectures. The materials team’s mission is to develop novel materials for emerging technologies. The team is well-equipped with thin film deposition tools and related characterization tools, located in a fully functional cleanroom with the capability to fabricate a wide array of nanoscale devices using novel materials.

Requirements

Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, physics, electrical engineering, or closely related field.
Expertise with materials and devices in the areas of non-volatile memory technologies, superconducting qubits, oxide semiconductor transistors, or novel magnetic or chemical sensors.
Strong hands-on experience with UHV film deposition equipment.
Strong hands-on experience with film characterization instrumentation and techniques such as XRD, XRF, XPS, AFM, and electrical transport as a function of temperature.
Strong knowledge of nanofabrication and general device design and operation.
Demonstrated ability to self-direct a research project.
Strong written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and in a team environment.

Responsibilities

Conduct hands-on, experimental research of thin films for emerging technologies such as superconducting qubits, non-volatile memories and novel sensor applications.
Thin film growth by physical vapor deposition using ultra-high vacuum film deposition tools.
Characterization of structural, electronic, optical, chemical, magnetic, thermal and mechanical film properties.
Design of materials for integration into nanoscale devices.
Collect, analyze, present and report film and device characterization data, results and conclusions.
Work closely and collaborate within a team of engineers and support staff.

Benefits

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
the WD Savings 401(k) Plan