Sr. R&D Engineer- Lubricant and Materials Development

Location: Fremont

About our group:

The Media Mechanical Process and Technology Development organization supports research and development for perpendicular and heat-assisted magnetic recording products. Our team advances media lubricant molecular design and synthesis and applies analytical materials science to understand trace compounds, identify unknowns, evaluate media interfaces, and assess risks associated with new media designs and processes. Our innovations contribute to new product introduction, manufacturing readiness, and long-term head-disk interface reliability.  

About the role - you will:

Design, synthesize, purify, characterize, and deliver advanced disk lubricant materials for next-generation recording media products.

Develop and optimize lubricant synthesis and purification processes to improve scalability, robustness, and production yield.

Develop analytical methods and maintain laboratory capabilities through instrument troubleshooting, preventive maintenance, and test capability expansion.

Partner with cross-functional engineering, product development, laboratory, and process teams to evaluate lubricant performance, media design and process changes, and head-disk interface reliability.

Analyze experimental results, communicate data-driven conclusions, and resolve complex technical and product issues.

About you:

You are a curious, independent researcher who combines strong hands-on laboratory skills with critical thinking and attention to technical details.

You take initiative and are passionate about turning process and technology innovations from concept into practical solutions. You are self-motivated and accountable, contribute positively to team objectives, and work effectively across functions while driving independent progress. You communicate effectively through technical writing, presentations, and daily collaboration with engineers, scientists, and laboratory and process technicians. You can manage multiple technical priorities without compromising safety, experimental discipline, or data integrity.

Your experience includes:

Strong hands-on experience in molecular design, organic or oligomer synthesis, purification, and materials characterization.

Hands-on experience with analytical instrumentation such as NMR, GPC, LC-MS, ICP-MS, and GC-MS.Experience designing experiments, analyzing complex datasets, troubleshooting technical problems, and clearly documenting conclusions.

Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Bachelor's degree in engineering related field (i.e., Chemistry, Chemical, Materials, Physics, or related field) and 5+ years of experience or master’s degree in the same and 3+ years’ experience or PhD and 0+ years’ experience or equivalent experience and education

You might also have:

Experience with advanced surface or materials characterization techniques such as AFM, Candela, SEM/EDX, TOF-SIMS, or ESCA/XPS. Knowledge of thin-film media, tribology, or head-disk interface reliability.

Experience with statistical analysis software and Python or other coding/scripting tools for data processing, visualization, modeling, laboratory automation, or AI-enabled chemistry workflows.

Experience developing or applying AI or Agentic AI tools to chemistry research, experimental planning, data analysis, knowledge retrieval, or laboratory workflows.

Knowledge with molecular modeling approaches, including Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations.

Location:

Our Gold LEED-certified Fremont product-design campus drives innovation, bringing together a diverse set of engineering, design, operations, support and administrative teams. The site is equipped with state-of-the-art clean room and lab space. On-site social activities are popular, including our annual BBQ, ice cream…