Principal Technical Recruiter

Western Digital Corporation; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 158,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

WD is seeking a Principal Technical Recruiter to join our Global Talent Acquisition organization, reporting directly to the Director of Talent Acquisition — Product, IT & Strategy. This high-impact role owns end-to-end recruitment for critical technical disciplines and elevates our approach through data, insight, and program ownership.

You will partner with senior leaders across product, software, data, IT infrastructure, and corporate strategy, build proactive pipelines, and drive improvements

Qualifications

• 8+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experience.
• Experience placing talent across product, hardware, software, IT, or corporate strategy disciplines.
• Ability to present market data to senior leaders and influence decisions.
• Proven program ownership and process improvement.
• Fluent in using recruiting tools such as Workday, LinkedIn Recruiter, and AI-assisted workflows.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end recruitment for senior technical roles across multiple disciplines.
• Partner with hiring managers, HRBPs, and leaders on tailored hiring strategies.
• Develop data-backed market insights and staffing updates for leadership.
• Design and own recruitment programs and process improvements.

Skills

Full-cycle technical recruiting

Senior stakeholder management

Data-driven decision making

Program leadership

Tools

Workday

LinkedIn Recruiter

Sourcing platforms

AI-assisted workflows

Job description

• Job Type (exemption status): Exempt position - Please see related compensation & benefits details below
• Salary Range: 157,700.00-210,300.00
• Business Function: Talent Acquisition

Company 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

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Principal Technical Recruiter to join our Global Talent Acquisition organization, reporting directly to the Director of Talent Acquisition — Product, IT & Strategy. This is a high-impact, full-cycle recruiting role designed for a seasoned talent professional who operates at the intersection of strategic advisor, delivery expert, and transformation leader.

As a Principal-level contributor, you will own the end-to-end recruitment experience for some of WD's most critical and complex technical disciplines—including Product Management, Software Engineering, Data & Analytics, IT Infrastructure, Corporate Strategy, and New Business Ventures. You will be expected to not only close requisitions, but to elevate how we recruit through data intelligence, stakeholder influence, and innovative program ownership.

1. Full-Cycle Talent Delivery

• Own the complete recruitment lifecycle—from intake and sourcing strategy through offer negotiation and close for mid to senior-level technical and strategic roles across Product, IT & Strategy.
• Partner deeply with hiring managers, HRBPs, and business leaders to develop tailored hiring strategies aligned to approved headcount plans and workforce priorities
• Maintain a high bar for candidate quality and experience, ensuring every interaction reflects WD's employer brand and values
• Proactively manage requisition loads with urgency and precision, consistently meeting or exceeding time-to-fill, offer acceptance, and quality-of-hire benchmarks
• Navigate ambiguous, fast-moving, and highly specialized talent markets with confidence and adaptability

2. Market Intelligence & Data-Driven Recruiting

• Serve as the subject matter expert on talent supply and demand dynamics for your assigned business units, including compensation benchmarking, competitor talent mapping, and skills availability analysis
• Leverage labor market data platforms (LinkedIn Talent Insights, Lightcast, Radford/Mercer) to deliver actionable intelligence to hiring managers and HR partners
• Use data to identify pipeline gaps, forecast hiring outcomes, and drive accountability across the funnel
• Present structured, data-backed hiring updates and market insights to business leaders and TA leadership on a regular cadence

3. Strategic Talent Advisor

• Function as a trusted advisor and thought partner to senior business stakeholders—including VPs and Directors—on hiring strategy, workforce planning, and talent market realities
• Challenge and influence hiring decisions through consultative dialogue, including calibrating role requirements, leveling discussions, and competitive positioning
• Partner with HRBPs and Total Rewards to build compelling, competitive offer packages that win in the current market
• Develop and champion proactive talent pipelines for critical capability areas, reducing dependency on reactive hiring cycles
• Represent TA in business planning conversations and contribute to longer-term workforce strategy initiatives

4. Program Management & TA Transformation

• Identify, design, and own recruitment programs and process improvement initiatives that elevate the effectiveness and scalability of the Global TA function
• Lead or co-lead projects such as: hiring manager enablement programs, structured interviewing frameworks, diversity sourcing strategies, candidate experience improvements, or new role intake process design
• Apply project management discipline to TA initiatives—defining scope, milestones, stakeholders, and success metrics—and drive cross-functional execution from ideation to adoption
• Serve as an internal champion for TA innovation, bringing external best practices inside and advocating for changes that improve speed, quality, and equity in hiring
• Document and socialize process improvements to ensure scalability and knowledge transfer across the TA team
• Demonstrate fluency across the modern recruiting technology stack, including ATS platforms, CRM tools, sourcing platforms, and productivity suites
• Actively incorporate AI-powered tools into daily recruiting workflows—including candidate sourcing and outreach personalization, resume screening, market research, job description drafting, and pipeline analytics
• Evaluate and pilot emerging TA technologies; provide structured feedback and recommendations to TA leadership on adoption and integration
• Mentor peers on effective and ethical use of AI and automation in recruiting workflows
• Stay current on developments in recruiting technology, generative AI, and people analytics as they apply to talent acquisition

Qualifications

This Role Is For You If...

• You have8+ years of full-cycle technical recruiting experienceand a proven track record placing talent across product, material science, hardware, firmware, software, IT, or corporate strategy disciplines
• You are energized byowning the roomwith senior leaders—presenting market data, pushing back on unrealistic expectations, and earning a seat at the strategic table
• You seedata as your first language—you're not guessing on compensation, pipeline health, or market availability; you're pulling the numbers and telling the story
• You've gonebeyond your requisition listto build programs, fix broken processes, or launch initiatives that made your TA team better
• Youlive in the tools—Workday, LinkedIn Recruiter, sourcing platforms, and AI-assisted workflows are part of your daily rhythm, not occasional experiments
• You thrive incomplex, matrixed, global environmentswhere ambiguity is the norm and self-direction is required
• You bring aconsultative mindsetto every search—understanding the business context behind every hire, not just the job description in front of you

You're Probably Not a Fit If...

• You'd rathertake orders than give counsel—this role requires you to challenge, advise, and influence, not just execute what you're told
• You treatdata as someone else's job—if you can't build a pipeline report, benchmark a comp package, or speak to talent market dynamics, this isn't the right seat for you
• You've spent your careerworking reqs and nothing else—we need someone who sees program ownership and process transformation as core to the role, not a distraction from it
• You're still figuring outwhat AI tools exist, let alone how to use them—this team moves fast and expects fluency, not curiosity from scratch
• You need afully defined playbookto operate effectively—ambiguity, shifting priorities, and white-space problem solving are features here, not bugs
• You getuncomfortable pushing backon a VP or a hiring manager—if you default to agreement to avoid conflict, the strategic impact of this role won't be realized
• You thinkcandidate experience ends at the offer—we care deeply about the full arc of every interaction, from first outreach to close, and so should you

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience recruiting within thesemiconductor, data storage, hardware, or enterprise technologysectors
• Prior agency or executive search background combined with in-house corporate experience
• Exposure toworkforce planning, organizational design, or HR business partneringconversations
• Proficiency with platforms such as LinkedIn Recruiter, Beamery, SeekOut, Gem, Tableau, or Power BI

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