Senior Director, IT - Engineering Services

Western Digital • San Jose, CA

5d

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Senior Director of IT to lead and modernize IT services supporting our Global Product Engineering Organization within a high-tech and manufacturing environment. Our products involve highly complex data storage hardware and firmware , and while experience across both hardware and software engineering is essential, this role will primarily focus on hardware engineering support . As a trusted partner to Engineering Executive Leadership and Mid-Level Management , the Senior Director will operate at both the strategic and tactical levels . The mission is to accelerate engineering efficiency and innovation through modern technologies, best-in-class practices, and intelligent integration of AI-driven accelerators . This role requires exceptional communication and negotiation skills , with the ability to build and sustain bi-directional partnerships between IT and engineering teams. The successful candidate will also possess a holistic understanding of end-to-end product lifecycle flows , from ideation through design, validation, and manufacturing, as well as strong IT infrastructure experience .

Requirements

• Proven success supporting large, global hardware and firmware engineering organizations in a high-tech or manufacturing company.
• Strong knowledge of end-to-end product development and manufacturing processes .
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted, collaborative partnerships with engineers, from executives to technical leads.
• Extensive experience in a progressive IT leadership role, including senior leadership roles.
• Strong background in product engineering systems , including PLM, CAD/EDA, and related tools.
• Deep understanding of hardware engineering workflows , complemented by exposure to software engineering practices.
• Experience with AI/ML applications in engineering or IT domains.
• Experience in IT infrastructure , including high-performance compute, storage, virtualization, and cloud.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and influence skills with the ability to engage at all organizational levels.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (Master’s preferred).

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior IT leader supporting global hardware and firmware engineering organizations .
• Partner with engineering executives and managers to define, align, and deliver IT strategies that enable innovation, velocity, and scalability.
• Modernize engineering technologies, processes, and practices to improve efficiency, quality, and collaboration.
• Drive AI adoption across engineering workflows where it can meaningfully accelerate design, validation, and decision-making.
• Champion IT–Engineering partnership , ensuring open communication, transparency, and mutual alignment on priorities.
• Oversee IT capabilities supporting product lifecycle management (PLM), CAD, EDA, test automation, simulation, and other engineering tools .
• Collaborate with business and manufacturing IT teams to ensure continuity and efficiency from product ideation through manufacturing handoff .
• Provide leadership across IT infrastructure supporting engineering workloads , including compute, storage, high-performance environments, and cloud integration.
• Lead vendor and partner negotiations, ensuring cost-effective and scalable solutions.
• Develop, mentor, and inspire a global IT team to meet the evolving needs of engineering.

Benefits

• 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 Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director