New College Grad, PhD Data Scientist (Econometrics)

Company Description

At Western Digital, we are on a mission to unlock the potential of data so people, companies and organizations everywhere can create what’s next. To fulfill our vision, we are always on the lookout for potential team members who share our passion for solving problems to empower others.

When you join Western Digital, you join a legacy more than 50 years in the making. Across our Western Digital®, SanDisk®, SanDisk® Professional, WD® and WD_BLACK™ brands, we have brought some of the most storied advancements in memory and data storage technology to market—and our best, most innovative work is yet to come.

From energizing gaming platforms, to enabling systems to make cities safer and cars smarter and more connected, to powering the data centers behind many of the world’s biggest companies and public cloud, Western Digital is fueling a brighter, smarter future.

Here’s how you can help.

Job Description

Strategically positioned within the organization of the CIO, AAO is missioned with accelerating Analytics solutions at scale across the Enterprise to rapidly capture business value. These solutions target key business metrics, such as, reducing manufacturing cost, improve capital efficiency, reduce time-to market to develop new products, improve planning, operational efficiency & logistics, and enhance customer experience.

AAO solutions are built using cutting edge Industrial 4.0 technologies and are delivered through a platform approach to enable rapid scaling. The solutions span AI/ML for improving manufacturing test, yield, quality & OEE, AI/ML & data analytics for sales, marketing, logistics & supply chain problems, Operations Research for capacity and scheduling optimization, Digital Twin for inventory and logistics optimization, and Product Telematics for managing customer fleet management solutions. Many of these solutions are first-of-a-kind that have discovery and rapid learning elements with the intent of taking solution to scale.

We are seeking a PhD Data Scientist to transform how we respond to market dynamics, optimize supply, cost, and pricing, and enhance our financial forecasting methods. In this role, you will collaborate with key stakeholders in Product Marketing, Sales, Finance, and Supply Chain to develop cutting-edge analytics solutions that drive significant impact on revenue, profitability, and shareholder value. With access to an exceptional talent pool in AAO, you will have the opportunity to fundamentally transform how Western Digital operates as a leader in the data storage industry.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

• Probabilistic Demand Forecasting: Develop probabilistic models that provide a range of possible demand outcomes with associated probabilities. Update demand forecasts dynamically as new information becomes available, using Bayesian principles to incorporate uncertainty in a structured way.
• Demand vs. Supply Scenario Planning: Develop multiple scenarios based on different assumptions about future market conditions, demand trends, and external factors (e.g., macro-economic indicators, geo-political events).
• Simulations & Quantitative Risk Management: Use Monte Carlo simulations and other probabilistic models to quantify & minimize the risk of different demand scenarios on inventory levels, production schedules, and profitability.
• Financial Forecasting: Utilize financial econometrics to build models that support financial forecasting, including sales and revenue projections.
• Pricing Optimization: Apply advanced analytics and optimization techniques to pricing strategies, including price gap analysis and pricing optimization.
• Data Analysis: Acquire, cleanse, and transform large and complex datasets and analyze to extract actionable insights and support scenario planning & risk assessment models.
• Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams: Work closely with Product Marketing, Supply Chain, Sales, and Finance teams to identify business challenges and develop data-driven solutions.
• Continuous Learning & Innovation: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in econometrics, advanced statistics, game theory, and data science. Contribute to the continuous improvement of processes, tools, and methodologies.

Qualifications

Required:

• PhD in a field such as Economics & Data Science, Advanced Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or a related discipline. Recent graduates and post-doc students are invited to apply.
• Research experience in solving complex forecasting, risk management and cost or profit optimization problems.
• Deep expertise in advanced statistical methods (e.g., Causal inference and Bayesian statistics), mathematical optimization, scenario planning, and simulations (e.g., Monte Carlo Simulations).
• Ability to handle large and complex datasets, with proficiency in SQL, Hadoop, Spark, and NoSQL databases.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R, or similar for data analysis and model development.
• Prior experience or aptitude to learn Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI techniques.
• Ability to quickly learn and apply new tools and technologies, particularly in data visualization (e.g., Power BI, Spotfire) and cloud platforms (e.g., Oracle Cloud, AWS, GCP).
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams and present complex data-driven insights to non-technical stakeholders.
• Critical thinking and an appetite to solve complex real-world problems.

Additional Information

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 jobs.accommodations@wdc.com 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 2/5/25, 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.