Chief of Staff - Product Management & Emerging Businesses at Western Digital

San Jose, California, United States -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

13 Aug, 26

Salary

323800.0

Posted On

15 May, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Strategic Execution, Operational Leadership, Program Management, Financial Acumen, Cross-functional Collaboration, Executive Communications, KPI Management, Resource Planning, Budgeting, Decision Support, Stakeholder Management, Product Strategy, Risk Management, Organizational Efficiency, Portfolio Planning, Transformation Initiatives

Industry

Computer Hardware Manufacturing

Description

Company Description At WD, 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, WD 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®, and WD_BLACK™. 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, WD is fueling a brighter, smarter future. Today’s exceptional challenges require your unique skills. Together, we can build the future of data storage. Job Description WD is seeking a Senior Director, Chief of Staff — Product Management & Emerging Businesses to serve as a strategic and operational partner to the SVP of Product Management and Emerging Businesses. This role acts as an extension of the SVP, driving operational rigor, execution of key initiatives, and cross-functional alignment across the entire organization. This position operates at the center of product, technology, and business decision-making — ensuring that strategy translates into action. The Chief of Staff leads operating cadence, drives accountability across priorities, enables effective decision-making, and ensures alignment of resources, investments, and outcomes. The role serves as a force multiplier for Product leadership by improving execution speed, decision quality, and organizational efficiency. Success in this role requires strong judgment, enterprise-wide perspective, and the ability to lead through influence in a highly matrixed environment. The ideal candidate brings a combination of operational leadership, program execution, financial acumen, and cross-functional collaboration, with experience in engineering, program management, finance, or prior Chief of Staff roles within complex technology organizations. Key Responsibilities Strategic Execution & Initiative Leadership · Partner with the SVP to translate strategy into executable plans, priorities, and measurable outcomes · Drive and track high-impact initiatives across Product Management and Emerging Businesses · Ensure alignment of goals, resources, and timelines across the organization · Act as a delegate for the SVP to advance initiatives and remove execution barriers Product Management Operating System & Cadence · Own and run the global Product Management operating cadence including QBRs, roadmap reviews, executive checkpoints, and planning cycles · Establish and maintain operating rigor across planning, execution, and review processes · Drive accountability for deliverables, timelines, and business outcomes · Continuously improve processes to increase efficiency, transparency, and speed Decision Support & Prioritization · Enable high-quality decision-making through structured analysis, insights, and executive-ready recommendations · Help prioritize initiatives and investments based on strategic value, ROI, and resource constraints · Anticipate risks, identify trade-offs, and recommend actionable solutions · Ensure decisions are aligned with enterprise objectives and long-term strategy Financial, Resource & Workforce Planning · Partner closely with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and investment planning · Monitor performance against financial targets, portfolio investments, and cost structures · Collaborate with HR on organizational planning, talent strategy, and workforce alignment · Ensure resources are deployed effectively to support strategic priorities KPI & Performance Management · Establish and track key performance indicators across revenue, margin, execution, and operational health · Provide visibility into business performance, trends, and areas of risk or opportunity · Drive a results-oriented culture with clear metrics and accountability · Ensure consistent reporting and performance management across the organization Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment · Serve as a central coordination point across Product, Engineering, Firmware, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, and Go-to-Market teams · Lead cross-functional alignment on key initiatives, roadmap execution, and operational priorities · Facilitate decision forums and resolve cross-organizational tradeoffs · Ensure execution is aligned with technology readiness, operational capability, and market needs Executive Enablement & Communications · Optimize the effectiveness, focus, and leverage of the SVP · Develop executive communications, presentations, and business updates · Translate complex technical and business topics into clear executive narratives · Represent the SVP in meetings and forums as appropriate Strategic Programs & Transformation Initiatives · Lead high-impact, cross-functional programs including platform transitions, cost optimization, and operational improvements · Drive transformation initiatives within Product Management operating models · Support strategic investments, partnerships, and M&A evaluations as needed · Sponsor and execute special projects on behalf of Product leadership Scope & Impact · Enterprise-wide impact across Product Management and Emerging Businesses · Drives execution of strategic priorities and operational performance · Regular engagement with VP/SVP/GM-level leadership · Direct ownership of operating frameworks and business cadence · Leads cross-functional initiatives with company-level visibility · Acts as a multiplier of leadership effectiveness, decision quality, and execution speed Qualifications Required · Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business, Finance, or related field · Progressive xperience in engineering, program management, finance, product strategy, or Chief of Staff roles · Proven ability to drive complex, cross-functional initiatives to completion · Strong operational, financial, and business acumen · Demonstrated ability to influence without authority in a matrixed organization · Exceptional communication, organization, and execution skills · Strong judgment with an enterprise-wide perspective Preferred · Experience in storage, semiconductor, or infrastructure technology industries · Prior Chief of Staff or equivalent operational leadership experience · MBA or advanced technical degree · Experience supporting executive-level decision-making and planning processes · Background in portfolio planning, budgeting, and transformation initiatives Salary Range: 242,900.00-323,800.00 Additional Information WD 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. WD 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. WD 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 6/30/26, 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. #LI-BN1 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. If your position is non-exempt, you are eligible for overtime pay pursuant to company policy and applicable laws. You may also be eligible for shift differential pay, depending on the shift to which you are assigned. You will be eligible to be considered for bonuses under either WD’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STI Plan”) or the Sales Incentive Plan (“SIP”) 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 WD'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 WD 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. Notice To Candidates: Please be aware that WD and its subsidiaries will never request payment as a condition for applying for a position or receiving an offer of employment. Should you encounter any such requests, please report it immediately to WD Ethics Helpline or email [email protected]. Job Type (exemption status): Exempt position - Please see related compensation & benefits details below Salary Range: 242,900.00-323,800.00 Business Function: Product Management Engineering Work Location: San Jose Great Oaks Headquarters--LOC_WDT_USCA23

Responsibilities

Acts as a strategic partner to the SVP of Product Management to drive operational rigor, execution of key initiatives, and cross-functional alignment. Leads the global product management operating cadence, manages financial and resource planning, and enables high-quality executive decision-making.