[Hiring] Senior Director, Intelligent Platforms @Western Digital

Role Description

We are seeking a Principal Architect, Intelligent Platforms to help shape the technical architecture for a next generation platform strategy that unlocks the full value of intelligent storage infrastructure. This leader will support the development of a platform architecture that begins with HDD, extends to flash, and evolves across future storage tiers through a consistent, scalable, and developer friendly API foundation.

The ideal candidate brings deep systems architecture expertise across storage, distributed systems, software platforms, and APIs. This person will work across product, engineering, research, and business teams to help translate strategic goals into a durable technical architecture, clear design principles, and an executable roadmap.

This is a high impact role for a senior technical leader who can think strategically, go deep technically, and align diverse stakeholders around a bold platform vision.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Support the definition and evolution of the architecture for Intelligent Platforms across device, software, and network interface layers.
• Partner with product management, engineering, and fellow architects to shape a scalable API and platform architecture that emphasizes consistency, extensibility, and long term value.
• Provide architectural guidance and technical leadership on key design decisions, tradeoffs, and integration points across HDD, flash, and future storage tiers.
• Contribute to architectural reviews, technical standards, and design principles that help ensure coherence across teams and releases.
• Represent the architecture in cross functional discussions with internal stakeholders, partners, and customers, helping connect strategic goals with technical direction.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 10+ years of experience in systems architecture, platform software, storage systems, distributed systems, or related infrastructure domains.
• Proven experience contributing to the architecture of large scale platforms, infrastructure software, or storage products.
• Strong background in APIs, software architecture, and system level design for complex products.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across engineering, product, and leadership teams.
• Preferred: Advanced degree in a relevant technical field.
• Experience with storage technologies such as HDD, SSD, object storage, block storage, file storage, or distributed storage.
• Familiarity with hyperscale infrastructure patterns, internal platform APIs, or cloud scale services.
• Experience supporting architectural decisions across both hardware and software domains.
• Familiarity with AI and data intensive workloads and the infrastructure needs that support them.

Benefits

• 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.

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, sex, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics.
• WD thrives on the power and potential of diversity and is 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.