Back to jobs

Engineering

Senior Technologist, Customer Quality Engineering

  • Western Digital
  • San Jose, CALIFORNIA, United States
  • Full-time
  • Salary not listed

About the role

Company Description At WD, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible. At our core, WD is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that—our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first-ever picture of a black hole. We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, and WD_BLACK™. We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest-growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever-growing data storage needs of the AI era, WD is fueling a brighter, smarter future. Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage. Job Description Individual contributor role responsible for end-to-end customer quality ownership for 2–3 assigned key accounts in the US and EMEAI markets. Serves as the primary WD quality interface for assigned accounts, driving issue resolution, product performance monitoring, and strategic quality initiatives across the customer lifecycle — from integration through field deployment. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Account Quality Ownership Own customer quality relationship for 2–3 assigned key accounts; serve as the single point of accountability for all quality-related escalations, communications, and deliverables Monitor product performance at customer integration and in the field; proactively identify anomalies, failure trends, and risk areas before they escalate Maintain top QBR rankings and quality scores for assigned accounts; prepare and deliver high-impact presentations with data-backed analysis as needed during QBRs and Quality Summits Ensure WD quality leadership and intimacy positioning with assigned customers Issue Resolution & Cross-functional Coordination Lead end-to-end issue resolution for product-related problems at assigned customers following 8D methodology; drive closure with engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain teams Coordinate cross-functional teams — including firmware, mechanical, reliability, and operations — to deliver timely and effective corrective actions Escalate systemic issues with supporting data and recommended actions to internal quality and product leadership Strategic & Complex Projects Lead or contribute to strategic Customer Quality Management initiatives including quality system improvements, customer-specific quality improvements, and field data analytics capability development Apply Product Intelligence — field data, return analysis, customer telemetry — to drive proactive quality interventions and product improvement recommendations Support development of scalable frameworks and best practices for account quality management across the broader CQM team Representation & Communication Represent WD Quality Organization in internal and external customer-facing meetings, audits, and escalation reviews Produce clear, executive-ready reporting and analysis for internal leadership and customer stakeholders Build and maintain trusted relationships with customer quality and engineering counterparts at assigned accounts   Qualifications Required 15+ years of experience in the storage industry with direct involvement in Customer Quality, Product Quality Engineering, or Field Quality Demonstrated experience managing quality for hyperscaler, enterprise, or OEM accounts in US or EMEAI markets Strong working knowledge of quality and reliability principles; proficiency in 8D problem-solving methodology High analytical capability — ability to synthesize large field datasets, identify failure signatures, and translate findings into actionable recommendations Strong project management and organizational skills; able to manage multiple concurrent account priorities without supervision Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; presentation skills suitable for executive and customer audiences Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools (e.g., Excel, Tableau, SQL, or equivalent) Preferred Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent technical discipline Experience with HDD or SSD product quality at hyperscale or enterprise customers Familiarity with field data analytics platforms and Product Intelligence methodologies Prior experience in a customer-facing quality role Additional Information WD is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected 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 . 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 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. Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 12-14-2026 3 months from posting), 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. #LI-RR1 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 compliance@wdc.com .