Principal Engineer, Software Development Engineering

Company: Western Digital
Location: East Irvine
Posted on: January 9, 2026

Job Description:

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 Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Western Digital High Volume BackEnd Hard Disk Drive Manufacturing is an industry recognized leading process thanks to the high-level of automation and ef?ciency for maximized throughput. The successful candidate will join the BE Manufacturing Code Development Staging and Architecture team to work with a team of highly quali?ed software and ?rmware architects and engineers to develop a common ?exible and abstracted platform across both Enterprise and Client space. The candidate will participate in the design and implementation of Host Application software as well as Manufacturing Firmware features using advanced development environment and tools based on C++ and Python / TCl / Perl scripts. This project exposes the team to Machine Learning, Secure Drive technology and a number of other advanced techniques. The signi?cant positive ?nancial impact and improved factory ef?ciency will be a great reward. The candidate should have good working knowledge of S/W / F/W Object Oriented Embedded programming and System Interlock design. Knowledge of the SAFe Development process, speci?cally as a Product Owner or Scrum Master, and strong verbal / written communication / team player skills are advantages. This position requires signi?cant experience in leading projects, develop requirements and drive project from development to deployment while working with cross-functional teams. Domestic or international travel may be required Good team player with very good oral and written communication skills Require robust ability to perform problem analysis and speedy resolution using systematic methodology with a high-level of ef?ciency Familiar with SAFe Software and Firmware Development Process. Experience in the role of Product Owner or Scrum Master is highly desired Good attitude towards the application of the Software / Firmware Development cycle in the design of Manufacturing Host Application and Firmware Ability to organize tasks and deliverables ef?ciently as appropriate to each assigned project Ability to develop validation / test plan and foresee test points needs ahead of feature design Exposure and familiarity with multiple Code Management systems including SVN, GIT / GERRIT / JENKINS Qualifications Required 6 years’ experience with embedded systems with focus high-quality Software and Firmware design and implementation with effective ability for problem solving BS or MS degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electronic Engineering or related curriculum Experience programming embedded microcontrollers in C/C++ and assembly Skills: Hand-on experience of script programming such as TCL, Python and Perl script Hand-on experience using hardware debug instrumentation such as oscilloscopes and bus analyzers Ability to work on ?rmware projects alone or partnered with members of a team. In such case, collaboration to promote success for both individual as well as other team members is necessary Additional Information Western Digital 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. Western Digital 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. Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. In 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. Based on our experience, we anticipate that the application deadline will be 12/16/25, although we reserve the right to close the application process sooner if we hire an applicant for this position before the application deadline. If we are not able to hire someone from this role before the application deadline, we will update this posting with a new anticipated application deadline. 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 Western Digital’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 Western Digital’s 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 Western Digital 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.

Keywords: Western Digital, Hemet , Principal Engineer, Software Development Engineering, Engineering , East Irvine, California