Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording; HAMR Optical Product Design Engineer

Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) Optical Product Design Engineer - Staff

Location:

Bloomington, MN, US

Posting Date:
Jan 20, 2026

Job

We are part of a HAMR development team to help develop, integrate, and productize key HAMR head technologies for next‑generation hard drive products.

• Analyze wafer/slider/HGA/drive level data of new design experiments and generate clear and actionable conclusions to guide the reliability and performance improvement of HAMR head optical design
• Track the experiments, defining/executing testing plans and follow up on failure analysis (FA) to ensure thorough understanding of the data and its implication
• Consistently interaction with technology leads, modeling engines, process teams, reliability teams, and drive design center etc. as this is an essential part of this position
• Participate in new test development for physics understanding and testing efficiency improvement
• Generate and execute component reliability improvement plan to enable product launch
• Extract sound conclusions from both volume statistical data and small sample size engineering testing results is also a critical quality for this position
• Managing cross functional projects to solve high level device problems
• Define system‑level optical performance requirements and lead optical architecture decisions across laser assembly, thermal‑optical configurations, and writer‑light-path interactions
• Serve as the primary technical authority for laser behavior, reliability fail mode signatures, reflection/NFT interactions, and thermal‑optical coupling
• Drive experiments to reduce DPPM through optical design improvements, robustness enhancements, and upstream optical‑path optimizations

• Demonstrated experience preparing, presenting and defending data and conclusions, as well as excellent communication skills
• Must have demonstrated capacity to learn quickly and sense of ownership, with strong preference given to direct experience in magnetic recording physics area
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical investigations and cross‑functional initiatives
• Able to work independently and contribute as a team member
• The position will require regular verbal and written reporting on progress to all levels of management
• Small amount (< 4 weeks/year) of domestic or international travel may be required for this position

• Direct experience in optimal or laser engineering, preferably in semiconductor laser development, photonic devices, or recording technologies
• Design for six sigma, DOE, and statistical analysis tools such as JMP etc., is also useful.
• Knowledge of basic wafer processing, recording head electrical testing and electrical signal processing is a strong plus.
• Background in high‑volume manufacturing environments with strong understanding of yield/dppm drivers.
• Defining and deploying new test methodologies or scaling reliability test capacity.
• Bachelor's Degree in Optics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Materials, Photonics and 8+ years of experience, or Master’s degree in the same and 6+ years of experience, or PhD and 3+ years of experience or equivalent education and experience.

You might also have:

• Excellent reliability background is a plus

Salary: The estimated base salary range for this position is $ - $. The individual salary is based on work location and additional factors, including job‑related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

Benefits: Seagate offers comprehensive benefits to its eligible employees, including, but not limited to, eligibility to participate in discretionary bonus program, medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, short‑and long‑term disability, 401(k), employee stock purchase plan, health savings account, dependent care, and healthcare spending accounts.

Seagate also offers paid time off, including 12 holidays, flexible time off provided pursuant to Seagate policy, a minimum of 48 hours of paid sick leave, and 16 weeks of paid parental leave. The benefits for this position are based on a full‑time schedule for a full calendar year and may differ depending on work location.

Bloomington, MN (This is…