Vice President, Platform Engineering

Western Digital•San Jose, CA

1d•$307,300 - $409,700•Onsite

About The Position

WD is seeking a Vice President of Engineering for Platforms to lead the organization designing, developing, and scaling next-generation, high-density hardware storage architectures. The role owns the storage platform roadmap, including ultra-dense JBODs and storage servers, and leads cross-functional hardware, firmware, and manufacturing operations teams to deliver reliable, serviceable, and cost-efficient solutions for hyperscale data centers and modern AI workloads. The position oversees the lifecycle of high-capacity storage enclosures from concept and architecture through board bring-up, validation, factory transition, and global high-volume manufacturing. It leads engineering directors, managers, and principal architects across electrical, mechanical, firmware, and operations domains; oversees contract manufacturing execution and product delivery; and drives NPI builds, factory bring-up, engineering validation, and the transition to mass production. The role also leads technical engagement with silicon suppliers, component vendors, and manufacturing partners; oversees departmental budgets, capital, headcount, tooling costs, and risk mitigation; and applies customer and data-center ecosystem knowledge to product development. Its technical and operations remit includes high-speed bus interfaces, complex multilayer PCB design, chassis and power engineering, thermal and airflow considerations, manufacturing test development, assembly-line optimization, and supply-chain scaling. WD describes itself as a company building infrastructure for the AI-driven data economy and powering hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and enterprise infrastructure. The position is based at WD's San Jose Great Oaks Headquarters. The role is exempt. The stated salary range is $307,300–$409,700 for applicable locations, with pay dependent on factors including qualifications, experience, skills, performance, and location. The anticipated application deadline is January 3, 2027, though the posting may close sooner.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering, or a highly related technical field.
15+ years of hands-on engineering experience.
8+ years in senior management roles, leading teams of 50 or more employees distributed across the United States and Asia.
Experience directly handling enterprise hardware platforms and NPI-to-mass-production lifecycles.
Proven track record delivering programs on time and successfully ramping into high-volume production.
8+ years of experience working directly with tier-1 and tier-2 enterprise customers, including understanding requirements, proposing solutions and architecture, and establishing long-term engineering- and executive-level relationships.
Proven track record managing tier-1 global contract manufacturers or original design manufacturers to deliver hardware at hyperscale volumes.
Outstanding executive communication skills and ability to explain complex technical trade-offs, such as design tolerance versus manufacturing yield versus BOM cost, to board-level stakeholders.
Experience operating in a global company environment with distributed teams across the Americas, Asia, and EMEA.

Responsibilities

Drive development lifecycles for next-generation high-capacity storage enclosures from concept through architecture, board bring-up, validation, and global high-volume manufacturing.
Build, manage, and mentor engineering directors, managers, and principal architects across electrical, mechanical, firmware, and operations domains.
Oversee manufacturing engineering and operations teams transitioning designs from the lab to the factory floor.
Own product delivery through contract manufacturing execution, ensuring handoffs, yields, and quality controls, and serve as the executive escalation point.
Drive prototype NPI builds, factory bring-up, and EVT/DVT/PVT, and establish processes for scaling into high-volume production.
Lead technical engagements and design reviews with silicon suppliers, component vendors, and contract manufacturing partners to enforce DFM, DFA, and cost-reduction targets.
Oversee departmental budgets, lab-instrumentation capital allocation, headcount planning, factory tooling costs, and organizational risk mitigation.
Apply deep customer and data-center ecosystem knowledge to inform technical product development.
Provide directional oversight for complex multilayer PCB designs incorporating PCIe Gen 6/7, SAS 12G/24G, SATA, and high-speed SERDES.
Ensure physical architectures balance disk and flash density with thermal dynamics, airflow constraints, and robust power distribution networks.
Oversee manufacturing test development, structural test metrics, assembly-line optimization, and supply-chain scaling for electromechanical assemblies.
Deliver programs on time and achieve successful ramps into high-volume production.
Build customer relationships by understanding requirements, proposing solutions and architectures, and developing long-term engineering- and executive-level relationships.
Transform engineering organizations through stronger methodology, platform reuse, schedule predictability, and improved first-pass execution.

Benefits

Paid vacation time
Paid sick leave
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Life, accident, and disability insurance
Tax-advantaged 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
Potential eligibility for bonuses through the Short Term Incentive Plan or Sales Incentive Plan
Potential eligibility for the annual Long-Term Incentive program, consisting of restricted stock units or cash equivalents