Summer 2026 Intern - HAMR Component Testing

Western Digital•San Jose, CA

23h•$42 - $56•Onsite

About The Position

The intern will work with the tribological component testing team supporting Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology. The project focuses on understanding and improving head-disk interface components operating under extreme conditions in HAMR. The intern will design and perform experiments to characterize tribological behavior of lubricants, overcoats and other materials relevant to HAMR head-disk interfaces and contribute to the development of next-generation storage technologies.

Requirements

Currently pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Tribology, Physics, or a related fields
Strong background in tribology, contact mechanics, surface science, or thin film materials
Ability to work hands-on with precision mechanical testing systems
Experience with experimental methods and data analysis
Programming experience in Python, MATLAB, or similar

Nice To Haves

Experience with surface characterization techniques, such as optical microscopy, SEM, AFM, surface profilometry
Knowledge of lubrication, DLC coatings, or surface engineering
Experience with thermal or thermo-mechanical effects in sliding interfaces
Background in statistical analysis or design of experiments (DOE)
Strong experimental problem-solving ability

Responsibilities

Document results and present findings to the research and engineering teams
Contribute to development of improved test methodologies or reliability models

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