| Career Opportunities |
| University Relations and College Recruitment |
The University Relations program is an essential component to Western Digital's success as an industry leader. Whether you're seeking an internship or full-time position, you'll find that WD offers a challenging and rewarding spectrum of opportunities in which to start your career. We search for individuals who desire to grow with us and become our future leaders. Recruiting the brightest minds from top-tier universities is a key component to Western Digital developing new technologies and maintaining a standard of excellence. If you are inspired by opportunity, take pride in results and strive to be number one, we want you here.
WD schedules hiring events at college campuses in both the fall and spring. These events are great opportunities to visit with recruiters and hiring managers to ask detailed questions about current openings and the culture at WD. If we visit your campus and you're interested in working for WD, you can apply through our careers website at http://careers.wdc.com. After an application is submitted, you may be extended a first-round interview. If that interview is successful, you will be invited to a second-round interview at WD's headquarters.
Entry level engineers coming into the WD organization are diverse, professional and have a wide variety of talents and expertise. We hire at every academic level from bachelor's to doctorate on numerous university campuses. Western Digital has offices in Northern California, Colorado and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Engineers that work out of our corporate headquarters will have the opportunity to go through our internal university, "FIT-U", where skills, ambitions and competencies are assessed. This 9-12 month program allows our entry level engineers the opportunity to grow into roles, under the direction of management, gaining experience and learning skill sets essential to being successful at WD. It's the optimal "FIT" for the new employee and WD.
Some examples of online or instructor led coursework at FIT-U can include:
- Continuous Integration & Validation
- Tracing and Debugging
- Error Recovery
- System Services
- Coding Standards
- Architecture Overview
In addition to our FIT-U program for entry level engineers, we seek out candidates for full-time internships during the summer months. These internships have the ability to spin into part-time positions in many circumstances based on project specifications and candidate availability. While we have a strong focus on hiring engineering majors, we offer opportunities for MBA's and undergraduates in non-technical areas. We offer internships in the following areas:
- Engineering – Multiple Disciplines
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Branded Products
- Finance/Accounting
- Business
- Human Resources
WD employs more than 63,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in the city of Irvine in Orange County, California. We have manufacturing and design facilities in Northern and Southern California, Malaysia and Thailand; and sales offices which are maintained throughout the world.
What WD Looks for in Engineers at Our Corporate Headquarters – Southern California:
We are looking for Entry Level Test Engineers with a Bachelor's or Master's degree focusing on Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering with a small segment dedicated to Computer Science expertise. You must have a strong academic background, solid fundamental understanding of your core major principles, industry experience through an internship is a plus, be a team player, self-motivated, and possess excellent oral and written communication skills. You should also have basic programming skills (C, C++ Java) with object-oriented coding experience, strong debugging and troubleshooting skills, and the ability to read and comprehend complex technical specifications. Click on the location links to see opportunities for other WD locations.
The main areas most engineers work into include Firmware, Hardware, Software and Coding. Entry level engineers enjoy ground-breaking and innovative equipment and labs. All the tools to be successful and make a difference are at your fingertips. WD helps all new engineers become acclimated by dedicating mentors, fostering team environments and providing an atmosphere of collaboration. The four main job titles that WD hires at the entry level are:
Additional Western Digital Locations:
Northern California
Colorado
Become a part of something great. Work with an industry leader. Come to WD.
Fremont, California
Our facility located in Fremont, California is the hub of Western Digital’s research and development. This facility works on the advanced technologies and concepts that make Western Digital a pioneer in the hard drive industry. The main areas for recruitment are more specialized and typically advanced degrees up to the doctorate level. Human Resources partners with numerous universities across the country that specialize in magnetic technologies. WD sponsors events, works with faculty to provide senior projects and strives to find the best and brightest students at these universities to ensure our products continue to be superior to the competition. Unlike the corporate headquarters which looks to mainly hire Electrical, Computer Science and Computer Engineering, Fremont will recruit all areas of the engineering functions adding Optical, Chemical and Mechanical to the mix. All positions are located on our careers website at careers.wdc.com.
San Jose, California
We have two locations in San Jose, California that look for a mix of both the corporate headquarters and Fremont office. San Jose will look for all areas of engineering at all levels from Bachelors to Doctorate levels. There is a strong emphasis on advanced firmware and like Fremont, a high degree of research and development. Degree tracks in San Jose can range from advanced physics, engineering and even materials science. These facilities recruit from a wide range of universities so be sure to keep your eyes on our website for new employment opportunities. careers.wdc.com
- Mechanical Design Engineer
- Principle Firmware Engineer
Longmont, Colorado
Western Digital has a presence in Longmont, Colorado which hires mainly Electrical Engineers and Computer Science majors. This particular office does a lot of work in firmware development and looks for all levels of engineering from Bachelors to Doctorate degrees. While this location is not as large as San Jose or Fremont, it has grown from a small office to housing over a hundred WD employees – and still growing! Some universities that Longmont works with are Colorado State, University of Colorado – Boulder and University of Wyoming. careers.wdc.com
University Relations Career Fair Recruitment Calendar
Fall 2012
California Universities
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California State University - Long Beach
September 20th - STEM Career Fair - 12:00pm - 4:00pm
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California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
October 10th - Eng/Tech Career Fair - 10:30am - 2:00pm
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California State Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo
October 10th - Career Fair - 10:30am - 2:30pm |
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California Institute of Technology
October 16th - Career Fair - 10:00am - 2:00pm
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California State University - Fullerton
October 3rd - Career Fair - 10:00am - 2:00pm
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University of California - Irvine
October 3rd - Mobile World Information Session - 10:00am - 4:00pm
October 18th - Eng/Tech Career Fair - 10:00am - 3:00pm
October 18th - Eta Kappa Nu Presentation - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
October 24th - Company Presentation - 6:30pm - 8:00pm
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University of California - Los Angeles
October 23rd - Eng/Tech Career Fair - 11:00am - 3:00pm
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University of California - Riverside
October 24th - STEM Career Fair - 10:00am - 2:00pm
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University of California - San Diego
October 17th - Eng/Tech Career Fair - 10:30am – 2:30pm
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University of California - Santa Barbara
October 16th - Career Fair - 1:00pm - 4:00pm
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Colorado Universities
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University of Colorado - Boulder
September 25th - Career Fair - 9:00am - 3:00pm
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Colorado State University - Fort Collins
September 27th - Career Fair - 10:00am - 3:00pm
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