Staff Engineer - Read/Write Channel Firmware

Company Description

At Western Digital, our vision is to power global innovation and push the boundaries of technology to make what you thought was once impossible, possible.

At our core, Western Digital is a company of problem solvers. People achieve extraordinary things given the right technology. For decades, we’ve been doing just that. Our technology helped people put a man on the moon.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest growth organizations in the world. From energizing the most competitive gaming platforms, to enabling systems to make cities safer and cars smarter and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and public cloud, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Binge-watch any shows, use social media or shop online lately? You’ll find Western Digital supporting the storage infrastructure behind many of these platforms. And, that flash memory card that captures and preserves your most precious moments? That’s us, too.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, storage devices and platforms for business and consumers alike. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk® and WD® brands.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. It’s You & Western Digital. Together, we’re the next BIG thing in data.

Job Description

Provide firmware and tools support to integrate new channel features, perform failure analysis, and evaluate performance for an advanced digital signal processing chip used for Hard Disk Drive (HDD) magnetic recording. Work with internal product development teams and external suppliers to provide firmware abstractions of the channel hardware into HDDs on various platforms.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support and maintain a hardware abstraction layer and special purpose engineering commands related to channel hardware applications
• Firmware integration of vendor channels to optimize HDD read/write performance and other necessary magnetic recording functions
• Develop validation scripts to be applied as developer and debug tools
• Create test scripts to be deployed within a Continuous Integration environment
• Follow Agile methodologies and have a willingness to become a contributing member of a scrum team that supports Enterprise level HDDs
• Plan, perform, summarize, and present findings with respect to channel verification, channel operations, technical experiments, and failure analysis results
• Basic understanding of general read/write channel functionality and applications
• Work in concert with suppliers’ technical support teams and WDC internal product teams
• Provide problem solving, algorithm design, risk mitigation, and complexity analysis to support the channel applications within drive firmware

Qualifications

REQUIRED

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or computer engineering related field
• Experience with embedded firmware and hardware / software applications
• Proficiency with C/C++, Python and TCL programming languages
• Strong knowledge of object-oriented programming is desirable
• Willingness to learn basic signal processing concepts and rapidly learn new technologies

SKILLS

• Strong communication skills and the ability to work well within a team
• Strong knowledge of HDD is desirable
• Travel may be required internationally or in the US
• Self-motivated with an aptitude for continuous improvement

Additional Information

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate 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 Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster.

Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of