Director, Senior Legal Counsel - job 1 of 2

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 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®, WD_BLACK™, and SanDisk® Professional brands.

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.

As a member of the Contracts Management Organization this attorney will provide high-quality legal counsel and support to Western Digital’s Strategic Sourcing Organization and Engineering including negotiation of commercial agreements and collaboration with internal stakeholders and outside counsel.  This full-time position is based at Western Digital’s offices in Irvine or San Jose, California. 

RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE: 

• Partnering with internal business clients and identifying/advising on risks and opportunities associated with a transaction or matter and proposing strategic as well as practical advice for mitigation or achievement. This role will focus on supporting Western Digital’s Direct Procurement team and Engineering teams. 
• Structuring, drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and finalizing complex technology, licensing, component or product supply, manufacturing and other procurement contracts, including, but not limited to, third-party IP/design license agreements, engineering design automation (EDA) software license agreements, engineering services agreements, custom component sourcing contracts, equipment purchase agreements, product supply agreements, collaboration agreements, non-disclosure agreements, engagement letters, statements of works, amendments, and other business/legal documents. 
• Working closely with attorneys and contracts managers within the Contract Management Organization and interfacing with Western Digital subject matter experts, as needed.  
• Implementing and managing aspects of the contracts management process and policies, including using and improving strategic playbooks, templates, and contract life cycle management processes.   
• Working on special projects as needed.  

REQUIRED: 

• 8-10 years in the practice of relevant experience in commercial and contract law as in-house counsel with emphasis in the areas of responsibility described above. 
• Juris Doctorate (JD) from accredited law school; Top 50 law school preferred. 
• Current member of California State Bar in good standing or Registered In-house Counsel in California. 

PREFERRED: 

• Technology background and/or engineering/technical degree highly desired. 
• Strong IP/patent licensing background preferred. 

SKILLS: 

• Experience working for technology companies or in the technology industry and supporting commercial transactions for engineering organizations. 
• Experience drafting and negotiating high volumes of complex equipment purchase agreements, component supply agreements, maintenance services agreements, and related procurement contracts. 
• Instills trust and has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to collaborate, demonstrate diplomacy, and otherwise interact well with colleagues and management in a highly professional manner. 
• Proficiency diving deep and accurately into details and strong analytical skills. 
• Attention to detail and ability to produce high quality work product. 
• Strong work ethic and ability to handle, prioritize and advance multiple projects in a global stakeholder environment (viz., the United States and APAC region).  
• Track record of providing high-quality, timely results on a wide variety of contract matters. 
• Self-starter who takes ownership of work and demonstrates the ability to work independently and collaboratively with others. 
• Committed to growth mindset and continuous improvement. 
• Experience with contract lifecycle management and e-signature software tool. 

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. Our pay transparency policy is available here.

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. Please contact us at [email protected] to advise us of your accommodation request. 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 3/11/25, 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.

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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.
• You will be eligible to participate in Western Digital’s Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan, 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 Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.