Senior Director, Corporate Development

WD; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 243,000 - 324,000; Full time

Job summary

WD is seeking a senior M&A professional to own the lifecycle end-to-end, from target identification to close, across core HDD and new deep-tech ventures. You will craft valuation frameworks, structure deals, and lead negotiations in a fast-moving, tech-focused environment.

In this role you will build a deal pipeline, evaluate portfolio optimization, and advise executive leadership with rigorous financial modeling. Collaboration with Legal, Finance, Product and Engineering is essential.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8–10+ years in M&A, investment banking, private equity, corporate development, venture capital, or corporate ventures.
• Industry experience in a highly technical field such as storage, semiconductor, infrastructure, or telecom.
• Proven full-cycle M&A execution with strong financial modeling and due diligence.
• Ability to create sophisticated valuation models from scratch.
• Strong strategic thinking to structure creative deals and align with value creation.
• Cross-functional deal management experience across Legal, Finance, Product and Engineering.
• Proven track record of building relationships with bankers, investors, advisors, and executives.
• Experience presenting to C-suite and Board-level executives.

Responsibilities

• Own the full M&A lifecycle end-to-end: target identification, due diligence, valuation, structuring, negotiation, and close.
• Lead transactions including mergers, acquisitions, JVs, spin-outs, and divestitures.
• Develop valuation frameworks and deal structures to support WD's strategic priorities.
• Build and maintain a proprietary deal pipeline across data storage, AI/cloud adjacencies, and deep-tech.
• Support corporate venture investment strategy and assess emerging technologies for partnerships.
• Deliver investment recommendations and executive briefings to the CEO and Board.

Skills

M&A experience

Deal execution

Financial modeling

Strategic thinking

Cross-functional teamwork

Relationship building

Executive communication

Cross-border M&A

Venture investing experience

Corporate venture models

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or related technical field

MBA from top-tier business school preferred

Job description

• Job Type (exemption status): Exempt position - Please see related compensation & benefits details below
• Salary Range: 242,900.00-323,800.00
• Business Function: Corporate Development

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

M&A Lifecycle Ownership

• Own the full M&A lifecycle end-to-end: target identification, due diligence, valuation, structuring, negotiation, and close across both the core HDD business and new ventures spanning a wide spectrum of deep tech opportunities including but not limited to photonics, magnetics, and nano-fabrication.
• Lead complex transaction execution including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, spin outs/ins, creative capital structures, divestitures, and vertical integration aligned to Western Digital's strategic priorities.
• Develop rigorous valuation frameworks, financial models, and deal structures.

Deal Pipeline and Portfolio Optimization

• Build and maintain a proprietary deal pipeline across data storage, AI/cloud adjacencies, and deep-tech by engaging with bankers, investors, startups, and operators to source high-quality opportunities aligned with Western Digital's strategic direction.
• Optimize the corporate portfolio through appropriate acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic partnerships and evaluate build-vs-buy-vs-partner decisions for new capability development, technology acquisition, vertical integration, and market entry.

Corporate Venture & Strategic Investments

• Support corporate venture investment strategy by building relationships with VCs, accelerators, and ecosystem partners to source and invest in high-potential technology companies and startups that are aligned with WD’s strategic priorities.
• Assess emerging technologies and business models in storage, data infrastructure, AI, and deep-tech related to New Ventures for potential minority investment or strategic partnership.

Executive Communication

• Deliver investment recommendations and executive briefings to the Executive Leadership Team (C-suite) and Board of Directors to translate complex deal opportunities into clear, actionable investment priorities.
• Synthesize market intelligence, competitive analysis, and financial modeling into compelling investment theses and strategic recommendations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with key stakeholders across the business (Engineering, Product, Finance, Commercial, Legal, HR) to coordinate on key deal activities and integration planning with long-range strategic plans and integration planning.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum 8–10+ years in M&A, investment banking, private equity, corporate development, venture capital, or corporate ventures.
• Industry experience in a highly technical field required e.g., storage, semiconductor, infrastructure, aerospace/defense, biopharma, telecom, etc.
• Proven M&A execution and deal track record with full-cycle transaction ownership, including deep experience with financial modeling, due diligence, negotiation, and post-merger activity.
• Exceptional financial modeling capability with the ability to independently build sophisticated valuation and deal models from scratch.
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to think through and execute creative deal structures and economics to onboard new partners and acquisition targets and align on value creation.
• Proven cross-functional deal management experience across Legal, Finance, Product, Engineering, and business unit stakeholders.
• Track record ofbuilding and leveraging relationships across bankers, investors, advisors, operators, and internal stakeholders.
• Experienced in presenting to and influencing C-suite and Board-level executives .

Preferred

• AI-adjacent experience (data, storage, software, memory subsystems) and/or prior experience working with or for hyperscale cloud providers, semiconductor companies, or large OEMs.
• Direct venture investing experience in deep-tech with a track record of sourcing, structuring, and managing minority investments.
• Active external network (bankers, VCs, advisors) to support independent deal flow.
• Experience with cross-border M&A and international transaction structuring.
• Familiarity with various corporate venture capital models and strategic investment portfolio management.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related technical field.

MBA from top-tier business school preferred

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 [emailprotected] 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 10/06/2026(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 this posting with a new anticipated application deadline.