Emerging Careers - Software Development Engineer (Wafer Inspection)

Western Digital•San Jose, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a full-time ML & Wafer Defect Inspection Engineer to join our advanced semiconductor manufacturing team. This Emerging Career role is ideal for early-career professionals passionate about applying machine learning to real-world challenges. You will work in a 24/7 wafer production fab, leveraging commercial ML applications to detect and report defects, optimize inspection workflows, and contribute to continuous process improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a STEM field (Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science, Physics, etc.).
Strong analytical skills and ability to work with complex datasets.
Completed coursework or experience in Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML).
Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and environments.
Effective communication and collaboration skills across multidisciplinary teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in high-tech manufacturing or semiconductor settings is a plus.

Responsibilities

Utilize commercial machine learning applications (e.g., Cognex) to analyze and flag wafer defects.
Collaborate with engineering teams to troubleshoot and resolve production issues using data-driven insights.
Process and interpret large-scale image and data sets for defect classification and reporting.
Optimize automated metrology and inspection workflows for efficiency and accuracy.
Document findings and present recommendations to improve defect detection and manufacturing processes.
Contribute to long-term innovation strategies in semiconductor defect inspection and automation.

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
shift differential pay
bonuses under either WD’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STI Plan”) or the Sales Incentive Plan (“SIP”)
annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents
RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires