Principal Process Engineer - Thin Film Job at ZipRecruiter in Fremont

Overview At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible. We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK, and SanDisk Professional brands. We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest-growth organizations in the world. Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage. We are seeking a highly motivated candidate to join our thin film process group. In this role, the candidate will work as a Thin Film Process Engineer at WD’s wafer fab in Fremont, CA. The candidate will support the thin film deposition processes in manufacture lines in order to meet manufacturing objectives with high quality, high productivity and low-cost products, as well as support the development of future products. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Support thin film processes of fab production line to deliver wafers with good quality and meet the demand. Develop and optimize process control methods and procedures to guarantee the quality and prevent damage excursion. Improve processes to achieve lower variation, less cycle time, higher throughput, minimal defects, lower cost of ownership and overall higher yield. Perform wafer failure analysis, troubleshooting, and implement corrective and preventive actions. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to transfer new products to production. Lead project execution to deliver the results on schedule. Set up and improve automation systems, and working instruction documents. Provide the training instruction to the operators. Support fab production 24/7, including taking immediate action with fab issues. Qualifications Required: Academic background in Material Science, Physics, Chemistry, or related engineering fields Experience of wafer fab operations/processes in Data Storage and/or Semiconductor technology industries Familiar with thin film deposition processes (PVD, CVD, IBD, etc), and equipment. Solid background on correlation of process and equipment hardware Deep understanding of material characterization techniques. Knowledge of DOE and data analysis using JMP Understanding of SPC. Knowledge of Magnetic material process and characterization is a plus. Skills: Trouble shooting and problem solving skills Leadership and communication skills Team player Being self-motivated with good project management skills Additional Information Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on various characteristics. 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. Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. 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. Western Digital 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 jobs.accommodations@wdc.com 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 12/3/25, 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. #LI-BN1 Compensation & Benefits 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 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 Western Digital’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. Not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the Western Digital 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, etc., 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: Western Digital and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. If you encounter such requests, report it to Western Digital Ethics Helpline or email compliance@wdc.com. #J-18808-Ljbffr