Senior Manager, Firmware Development

Western Digital•Irvine, CA

17h

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Firmware Development leads a team responsible for designing, developing, integrating, debugging, and delivering embedded firmware for complex storage products. The role combines people leadership, technical judgment, execution discipline, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure high-quality firmware delivery aligned with product, program, and business objectives. The manager builds team capability through direction, coaching, prioritization, and performance management, and partners with hardware, systems, validation, program management, quality, and manufacturing teams throughout the product lifecycle. The role provides technical and organizational leadership for embedded firmware development, including architecture, data structures, software algorithms, drivers, control paths, and hardware interfaces. It oversees engineering execution from concept through release and sustaining support, while balancing immediate delivery needs with improvements to team capability, processes, tools, and the technical roadmap. The manager also handles resource planning, work allocation, hiring, onboarding, succession planning, and stakeholder communication, and ensures lifecycle documentation is complete and maintained.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
10+ years of embedded or firmware development experience, including meaningful experience leading engineering teams.
3+ years of people management or equivalent leadership experience, including performance management, coaching, and career development.
Strong foundation in embedded systems and firmware development using C/C++, including low-level software, device control, drivers, and hardware/software integration.
Experience leading teams through full product development cycles from concept through release and sustaining support.
Demonstrated ability to manage engineers with a broad range of experience and skill levels.
Strong problem-solving, debugging, and root-cause analysis skills in complex system environments.
Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate technical and execution topics to engineering and management audiences.
Ability to make timely, well-reasoned decisions that account for technical, schedule, and business tradeoffs.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in a relevant technical field.
Experience with storage, data-path, controller, or other performance-sensitive embedded systems.
Experience with firmware development tools, lab debug environments, emulation, simulation, and automated test frameworks.
Working knowledge of structured development methodologies, CI/CD practices, code review discipline, and quality-oriented release processes.
Experience operating in global, cross-functional product development organizations.

Responsibilities

Lead, develop, and retain firmware engineers across architecture, design, implementation, integration, debugging, and sustaining activities.
Set team goals, priorities, and execution plans aligned with product roadmaps, schedules, and quality expectations.
Drive disciplined firmware development practices, including design reviews, coding standards, defect management, test strategy, and release readiness.
Provide technical and organizational leadership for embedded firmware development, including data structures, algorithms, drivers, control paths, and hardware interfaces.
Guide debugging of complex firmware, hardware, system, and platform issues; support root-cause analysis and corrective-action closure.
Partner with ASIC, hardware, systems, validation, manufacturing, reliability, and program teams to deliver complete solutions.
Balance near-term execution with longer-term improvements to team capability, development processes, tools, and the technical roadmap.
Review technical designs, development plans, and engineering analyses for sound decisions, clear tradeoffs, and effective risk management.
Build an accountable, collaborative team environment that supports engineers at different experience levels and develops technical depth and ownership.
Manage resource planning, work allocation, hiring, onboarding, and succession planning for the firmware organization.
Communicate status, risks, dependencies, and key technical decisions to the Director of Firmware Development and other stakeholders.
Ensure documentation is complete and maintained throughout the firmware development lifecycle, including requirements, design artifacts, investigations, and release materials.
Develop team members through coaching, feedback, stretch assignments, and succession planning; adapt leadership to employees’ experience levels.
Raise issues early, escalate appropriately, and drive closure on critical dependencies and risks.

Benefits

Paid vacation time and paid sick leave.
Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Life, accident, and disability insurance.
Flexible spending and health savings accounts.
Employee assistance program.
Voluntary benefits, including supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident, and hospital indemnity coverage.
Tuition reimbursement.
Transit benefits.
Applause Program.
Employee stock purchase plan.
WD Savings 401(k) Plan.
May be eligible for bonuses under the Short Term Incentive Plan or Sales Incentive Plan, depending on role and performance.
May be eligible for the annual Long-Term Incentive program, which may include restricted stock units or cash equivalents; eligible new hires may also receive RSU awards.