Senior Principal Supply Chain Engineer – HDD Innovation

Western Digital Corp.; Honolulu (HI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid vacation time

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k) Plan

Employee stock purchase plan

Job summary

Western Digital Corp. is seeking a Supply Chain Innovation Manager to collaborate with industry ecosystems, strategic suppliers, and internal teams.

This role drives new technologies, reduces TCO, and strengthens supplier manufacturing capability, capacity, quality, sustainability, and resilience. The ideal candidate combines strong technical acumen with supplier-facing leadership, using data, structured problem solving, and collaboration to translate emerging technologies into scalable,

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with a data‑driven mindset.
• Experience working directly with suppliers on technical, operational, or cost‑reduction initiatives.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Responsibilities

• Partner with suppliers to evaluate, pilot, and scale new technologies, processes, and materials.
• Serve as a technical interface between suppliers and internal engineering, manufacturing, quality, and procurement teams.
• Identify and drive supplier‑led innovation opportunities aligned with product and supply chain roadmaps.
• Lead initiatives to reduce total cost of ownership through design‑for‑manufacturability, process optimization, automation, yield improvement, and lifecycle cost analysis.
• Evaluate trade‑offs across cost, quality, risk, sustainability, and scalability to inform sourcing and technology decisions.
• Support should‑cost modeling and fact‑based negotiations through deep technical and process understanding.
• Assess and improve supplier capacity, scalability, and technical readiness to support current and future business demand.

Skills

Supplier development

Data-driven mindset

Technical interface

Travel domestically/internationally

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering / technical field

Master’s degree / MBA (preferred)

Job description

Western Digital Corp. is seeking a Supply Chain Innovation Manager to collaborate with industry ecosystems, strategic suppliers, and internal teams.

This role drives new technologies, reduces TCO, and strengthens supplier manufacturing capability, capacity, quality, sustainability, and resilience. The ideal candidate combines strong technical acumen with supplier-facing leadership, using data, structured problem solving, and collaboration to translate emerging technologies into scalable,