Fall 2026 PhD Intern - Hardware Development Engineering

WD; Fremont (CA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation

Paid sick leave

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

FSAs & HSAs

Tuition reimbursement

Transit benefits

Employee stock purchase plan

WD 401(k)

Job summary

WD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy in California. The role focuses on sustaining layers owned by the team, dispositioning non-critical layers, and troubleshooting excursions to ensure smooth production workflows.

You’ll contribute to photo process development for future products and support mask management with ME owners. We seek candidates pursuing or having completed a PhD in Engineering or core sciences, with strong critical thinking, problem-solving, and

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently completed PhD in Engineering or Core Science (e.g., EE, ME, Physics).

Responsibilities

• Learn how to disposition non‑critical layers and assign ownership to their daily routine disposition, and troubleshoot excursions related to their layers.
• Primary responsibility is to sustain layers owned by their team. Work with production to ensure a smooth process for their layers.
• Photo process development work for new layers/future products.
• Work with mask management ME owner to help with daily work related to mask management.
• Help current ME execute their projects; will be project‑by‑project cases.

Skills

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Quick Situation Assessment

Strong Communication & Presentation

Education

PhD in Engineering or Core Science

Job description

WD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy. As AI scales, so does data. Every interaction, every model, every system generates data that must be stored, managed, and made accessible over time. That’s where we come in. We combine deep engineering expertise with global-scale manufacturing to deliver the storage systems that make AI possible, powering hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and enterprise infrastructure worldwide. This isn’t theoretical work. It’s real systems, at real scale, people solving some of the hardest challenges in technology today. We’re looking for people who want to build, solve, and operate at that level. Join us and let’s shape the future of data.

Job Description

• Learn how to disposition non‑critical layers and assign ownership to their daily routine disposition, and troubleshoot excursions related to their layers.
• Primary responsibility is to sustain layers owned by their team. Work with production to ensure a smooth process for their layers.
• Photo process development work for new layers/future products.
• Work with mask management ME owner to help with daily work related to mask management.
• Help current ME execute their projects; will be project‑by‑project cases.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing or recently completed PhD in Engineering or Core Science (e.g., EE, ME, Physics).

Skills

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
• Ability to Quickly Ascertain a Situation and Determine What is Needed
• Strong Communication and Presentation Ability

Salary Range: 42.02-56.00

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 [e-mail] 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 10/16/2026, 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.

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 [e-mail].