Tribology engineer

An educational platform on tribology — the science of friction, wear and lubrication

Who is it for

Engineers, researchers, students and industry professionals

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’re been doing just that—our technology helped people put a man on the moon and capture the first‑ever picture of a black hole.

We offer an expansive portfolio of technologies, HDDs, and platforms for business, creative professionals, and consumers alike under our Western Digital®, WD®, and ™.

We are a key partner to some of the largest and highest‑growth organizations in the world. From enabling systems to make cities safer and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and hyperscale cloud providers, to meeting the massive and ever‑growing data storage needs of the AI era, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage.

Western Digital is seeking a Head Tribology Engineer to work on the qualification of innovative magnetic head features that improve head-media interface quality and reliability. You will be working with cross‑functional teams to develop and oversee testing of these features, lay down qualification plans and execute them in a timely manner for successful deployment in the HDD product.

• Work with Head ABS (Air Bearing Surface), HOC (Head Over Coat) and TM (Thermo‑Mechanical) design teams to support qualification of tribology enablers critical to improving interface reliability.
• Responsible for developing qualification plans, communicating to world‑wide teams to get agreement, launch builds and follow up on schedules to ensure successfully deployment of features for the product.
• Work with characterization teams to devise component tests which help to accurately assess the benefits and risk of enablers before they are deployed in the product.
• Set up evaluation systems to investigate head overcoat surface properties and tribology performance. Need to have ability to understand and perform complex lifetime analysis including predictions.
• Devise component level tests to assess head lifetime related to tribological wear. Must be able to interpret results from nano‑scale material analysis techniques such as AFM, SEM, TEM, Auger to assess wear and failures.
• Drive failure mode analysis and implement corrective actions (FMEA, root cause analysis).
• Work with HDD tribology integration team to qualify enablers in the product. Perform correlations between component and HDD test results.
• Organize complex technical information and clearly communicate findings either verbally or through written reports and presentations.
• Participate in design reviews and provide technical expertise to support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Create detailed technical documentation, including specifications related to head tribology for high volume manufacturing.

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, EE, Material science, Physics, Chemistry, or equivalent with 8-10 years industry experience.
• Experience in Tribology
  , interface design, tribology testing and material analysis.
• Awareness of magnetic recording fundamentals
• Knowledge of head/media interface challenges in ePMR and HAMR technology
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities with attention to detail.

• Data analysis and statistical tools such as JMP or Minitab.
• Knowledg…