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 team's 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
Also
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
Also
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
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
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
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
Also
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
Who they want
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science, or a related technical discipline; Master's 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
Nice to have
Preferred Qualifications
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. Our pay transparency policy is available here.
WD thrives on the power and potential of diversity.…
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
Western Digital
Found on the web. You apply on the company's own site
This role screens for Python. Sit a ten-minute live challenge, get a signed receipt, and the employer sees it verified on your application instead of claimed.