Hardware Development Engineering

About the role

Western Digital is seeking a motivated Early Career Photolithography Process Engineer to join our wafer manufacturing team. This role is ideal for engineers who are passionate about semiconductor manufacturing and processing. development, data analysis, and solving complex technical challenges.

As a member of the Photolithography Engineering team, you will work alongside experienced engineers, technicians, equipment specialists, and cross-functional partners to develop, optimize, and sustain advanced lithography processes used in high-volume manufacturing.

This position offers excellent opportunities for technical growth, mentorship, and career development in one of the most critical process areas within semiconductor manufacturing.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support photolithography process development, optimization, and sustaining activities for high-volume manufacturing.
• Monitor process and equipment performance using statistical analysis and data-driven problem solving.
• Participate in root cause investigations and corrective actions for process excursions, yield issues, and equipment-related events.
• Execute experiments and process characterizations using Design of Experiments (DOE)
• methodologies.
• Develop and implement process improvements to improve yield, cycle time, quality, and
• manufacturing robustness.
• Support qualification of new equipment, materials, and process technologies.
• Create and maintain process documentation, operating procedures, and engineering reports.
• Train and support technicians, manufacturing personnel, and equipment owners.
• Collaborate with Integration, Yield Enhancement, Metrology, Maintenance, Manufacturing, and Product Engineering teams.
• Utilize Statistical Process Control (SPC), Advanced Process Control (APC), and data analytics tools to monitor and improve critical process metrics.
• Gain hands-on experience with advanced lithography systems and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Qualifications & Requirements

Required

• B.S. or M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience in semiconductor manufacturing, microfabrication, research laboratories, or other technology-focused environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated ability to interpret data and identify trends.
• Experience with data analysis tools such as JMP, Python, SQL, Minitab, SAS, MATLAB, or similar platforms.

Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrated initiative, curiosity, learning agility, and ownership of assigned projects.

Preferred

• Internship, co-op, research, or manufacturing experience in semiconductor processing or wafer fabrication.
• Familiarity with cleanroom environments and semiconductor manufacturing practices.
• Exposure to photolithography concepts such as photoresist coating, exposure, development, overlay, and critical dimension control.
• Knowledge of Design of Experiments (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), and Advanced Process Control (APC).
• Experience with scripting, automation, machine learning, or data visualization tools is a plus.

Additional Information

We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the " Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal " poster. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

WD thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

WD is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 01/30/2027, although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.

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Compensation & Benefits Details

• An employee's pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
• The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York. This range may be modified in the future.
• If your position is non-exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws. You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned.
• You will be eligible to be considered for bonuses under either WD's Short Term Incentive Plan ("STI Plan") or the Sales Incentive Plan ("SIP") which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance, depending on your role and your performance. You may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to WD's Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including 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; and the WD Savings 401(k) Plan.
• Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company's sole discretion, consistent with the law.

Notice To Candidates: Please be aware that WD and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. Should you encounter any such requests, please report it immediately to WD Ethics Helpline or email.