Supplier Innovation Engineer

Responsibilities

• Partner with suppliers to evaluate, pilot, and scale new technologies, processes, and materials to improve cost, performance, and quality
• Serve as a technical interface between suppliers and internal engineering, manufacturing, quality, and procurement teams
• Lead initiatives to reduce total cost of ownership through design-for-manufacturability, process optimization, and automation
• Evaluate trade-offs across cost, quality, risk, sustainability, and scalability to inform sourcing decisions
• Assess and improve supplier capacity, scalability, and technical readiness
• Drive initiatives to improve supplier operational maturity, including digitalization and equipment readiness
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action for systemic supplier issues
• Promote continuous improvement methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, and SPC across the supplier base
• Support supplier sustainability initiatives related to environmental impact and energy efficiency

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, or a related technical field
• 5+ years of experience in supply chain engineering, manufacturing engineering, or supplier development
• Experience working directly with suppliers on technical or cost-reduction initiatives
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business (MBA)
• Experience introducing new manufacturing technologies or processes into production
• Background in cost modeling, should-cost analysis, or value engineering
• Experience in complex, global supply chains and R&D partnerships

About the Company

WD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy. We combine deep engineering expertise with global-scale manufacturing to deliver the storage systems that make AI possible, powering hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms, and enterprise infrastructure worldwide.