Senior Supply Chain Innovation Engineer

Western Digital•San Jose, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Supply Chain Innovation Manager partners closely with industry ecosystem, strategic suppliers, and internal cross‑functional teams to enable new technologies, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), and strengthen supplier manufacturing capability, capacity, quality, sustainability, and resilience. This role sits at the intersection of supply chain, engineering, and operations, driving innovation across the supplier ecosystem to support long-term business growth and competitiveness. The ideal candidate combines strong technical acumen with supplier-facing leadership, using data, structured problem-solving, and collaboration to translate emerging technologies into scalable, cost-effective, and resilient supply chain solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, or a related technical field
Extensive experience in supply chain engineering, manufacturing engineering, supplier development, or related roles
Experience working directly with suppliers on technical, operational, or cost-reduction initiatives
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset
Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business (MBA)
Experience introducing new manufacturing technologies or processes into production
Background in cost modeling, should-cost analysis, or value engineering

Responsibilities

Partner with suppliers to evaluate, pilot, and scale new technologies, processes, and materials that improve cost, performance, quality, and time-to-market
Serve as a technical interface between suppliers and internal engineering, manufacturing, quality, and procurement teams
Identify and drive supplier-led innovation opportunities aligned with product and supply chain roadmaps
Lead initiatives to reduce total cost of ownership through design-for-manufacturability, process optimization, automation, yield improvement, and lifecycle cost analysis
Evaluate trade-offs across cost, quality, risk, sustainability, and scalability to inform sourcing and technology decisions
Support should-cost modeling and fact-based negotiations through deep technical and process understanding
Assess and improve supplier capacity, scalability, and technical readiness to support current and future business demand
Drive initiatives to improve supplier operational maturity, including process capability, equipment readiness, workforce skills, and digitalization
Partner with supply chain and operations teams to strengthen supplier resilience, including dual sourcing, risk mitigation, and recovery planning
Collaborate with suppliers and internal quality teams to improve process capability, reduce variability, and prevent escapes
Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for systemic supplier issues
Promote continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, SPC) across the supplier base
Support supplier sustainability initiatives related to environmental impact, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and responsible sourcing
Work closely with engineering, manufacturing, quality, procurement, finance, and program management teams to align priorities and execution
Communicate complex technical and supply chain topics clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Influence to drive alignment and results across organizational boundaries

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