Manager Metrology Equipment Engineering

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

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Metrology Equipment Engineering Manager to lead a team of  Metrology Equipment Engineers supporting wafer manufacturing operations in San Jose and Fremont. In this role, you will be responsible for the technical direction, operational performance, and continuous improvement of the wafer metrology equipment fleet. You will serve as the primary escalation point for equipment issues across the metrology engineering team, drive prioritization decisions that balance line availability, quality risk, and resource capacity, and develop your teams technical and professional capabilities. You will partner closely with manufacturing, process integration, quality, and equipment supplier teams to ensure measurement systems meet the precision and throughput demands of leading-edge HDD wafer production.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Team Leadership & People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Metrology Equipment Engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous learning
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular 1:1s, and deliver timely, constructive feedback through formal performance reviews and ongoing coaching
• Support career development planning for team members across technical and leadership growth paths
• Drive team engagement, retention, and skill development through targeted training, stretch assignments, and cross-functional exposure
• Onboard new team members and ensure effective knowledge transfer across the team
• Model adoption of AI-assisted analysis tools and automation workflows to elevate team efficiency and analytical capability

Escalation Management

• Serve as the primary technical escalation point for all wafer metrology equipment issues, including critical measurement excursions, tool downtime, and data quality anomalies
• Apply structured problem-solving methodologies (8D, RCCA, DMAIC) to drive rapid and permanent resolution of high-severity equipment issues
• Engage with equipment suppliers, field service engineers, and internal stakeholders to resolve complex technical issues that exceed individual engineer scope
• Maintain clear escalation pathways and communication protocols to ensure manufacturing leadership is informed of risk exposure and recovery timelines
• Own post-incident reviews to capture learnings and prevent recurrence across the fleet

Prioritization & Resource Management

• Manage and prioritize workload across the team to align metrology engineering resources with production urgency, quality risk, and strategic program milestones
• Balance competing demands across preventive maintenance schedules, qualification activities, excursion investigations, and improvement projects
• Develop and maintain a team capacity model to support headcount planning, overtime decisions, and contractor or vendor resource allocation
• Partner with manufacturing and process engineering leaders to align metrology equipment roadmap and readiness with production ramps and new technology introductions

Metrology Equipment Operations & Technical Oversight

• Oversee the operation, calibration, qualification, and maintenance of the full wafer metrology equipment portfolio, including optical, SEM, and physical measurement systems
• Ensure all measurement systems meet accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility requirements through rigorous MSA, GRR, and capability assessments
• Review and approve measurement procedures, protocols, equipment qualifications, and technical documentation developed by the team
• Establish and maintain equipment health monitoring systems, KPI dashboards, and fleet performance metrics (uptime, MTTR, calibration compliance, measurement uncertainty)
• Ensure compliance with industry standards, internal quality systems, and audit requirements for equipment traceability and measurement integrity

Continuous Improvement & Strategic Initiatives

• Identify and lead equipment and process improvement initiatives that enhance measurement accuracy, throughput, cost-effectiveness, and data quality
• Drive evaluation and qualification of next-generation metrology technologies to support roadmap requirements and replace aging equipment
• Champion the integration of SPC, advanced data analytics, and AI/ML tools into metrology workflows to enable predictive maintenance and faster excursion detection
• Contribute to pFMEA processes to proactively identify and mitigate measurement system risks
• Represent the metrology engineering team in cross-functional forums, technology reviews, and supplier business reviews

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

• Communicate metrology equipment status, risks, and improvement initiatives clearly to manufacturing, quality, process integration, and senior leadership stakeholders
• Prepare and present regular team performance updates, project status reports, and escalation summaries to the Director of Wafer Engineering
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with equipment suppliers, calibration vendors, and external metrology partners
• Collaborate with peer engineering managers to align priorities, share best practices, and resolve cross-functional dependencies

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline; Masters degree preferred
• 7+ years of experience in metrology, semiconductor equipment engineering, or a related manufacturing engineering discipline
• 2+ years of demonstrated people management or formal technical leadership experience
• Hands-on expertise with wafer metrology equipment such as optical profilometers, ellipsometers, SEM/CD-SEM, overlay measurement tools, or comparable precision measurement systems
• Strong foundation in measurement systems analysis (MSA), GRR, SPC, and statistical data analysis
• Demonstrated ability to manage escalations, drive root cause analysis, and communicate effectively under time pressure
• Experience with equipment qualification methodologies, calibration standards, and metrology documentation practices
• Proficiency with data analysis tools such as Python, JMP, or equivalent

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in HDD, MEMS, or advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing environments
• Familiarity with AI/ML-assisted data analysis, predictive maintenance platforms, or advanced process control systems
• Working knowledge of pFMEA, DMAIC, or equivalent structured quality improvement frameworks
• Experience managing supplier relationships and leading supplier performance reviews
• Demonstrated track record of building and developing high-performing engineering teams

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. 

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 processIn 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.

Compensation & Benefits Details

An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.

The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in California, Colorado, New York or remote jobs that can be performed in California, Colorado and New York.  This range may be modified in the future.

If your position is non-exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws.  You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned.

You will be eligible to be considered for bonuses under either WD’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STI Plan”) or the Sales Incentive Plan (“SIP”) which provides incentive awards based on Company and individual performance, depending on your role and your performance. You may be eligible to participate in our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs) or cash equivalents, pursuant to the terms of the LTI plan. Please note that not all roles are eligible to participate in the LTI program, and not all roles are eligible for equity under the LTI plan. RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to WDs Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Applause Program; employee stock purchase plan; and the WD Savings 401(k) Plan.

Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Companys sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.