Principal Engineer, Development Engineering

Job Description

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

BE integration engineer and technical project leadresponsible for evaluating how new wafer-level designs and materials perform through back-end slider processing. The role blends hands-on materials characterization, cross-team coordination, technology milestone tracking, and emerging AI/ML capability development - all within a HAMR recording head manufacturing environment. Examples include:

• Wafer-to-slider BE assessment- Evaluate wafer designs at BE through process mapping, electrical measurements, and surface characterization using AFM, SEM, and FIB-TEM techniques.
• Technology milestone ownership- Tracks and drives BE evaluations for multiple technology milestones, coordinating DOE (Design of Experiment) builds, lapping, and post-process inspections.
• Cross-functional coordination- Leads abi-weekly WF/BE interlock meetingthat bridges wafer-level (front-end) teams with BE development, managing agendas and ensuring alignment across engineers in multiple geographies.
• AI/ML initiatives- Drives projectsusing machine learning and WD's ML platformfor data-driven prediction of slider performance metrics.
• Process automation- Develops scripts for ISA data automation, missing lot checking, and multi-step query tools to improve team efficiency.

Qualifications

REQUIRED:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Science or engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• (Preferred) 3-5+ years in HDD head manufacturing, magnetic recording, or semiconductor process engineering, with hands-on experience using AFM, SEM, FIB-TEM, and optical microscopy
• Experience with DOE (Design of Experiments) planning, execution, and statistical process control (SPC/EDCSPC) for data-driven decision making
• Familiarity with AI/ML tools for defect detection and process optimization

SKILLS:

• Proficiency in competitive and failure analysis methodologies
• Strong communication skills in English (written and verbal) for technical reporting and cross-site meetings
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional teams (wafer, process, BE, NPI, and design groups) and manage multiple concurrent programs with clear timelines

Additional Information

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