Director, Early Talent Recruiting and Programs

Job description

Company Description

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.

Job Description

Global University Partnership & Recruiting Director (M110)

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Responsible for developing and executing a strategic approach to university recruiting and partnerships, specifically early-career hiring, internal engagement and development and future talent pipelining. This role will design and implement initiatives that strengthen relationships with academic institutions, drive employer brand presence on campuses, and attract top emerging talent.

Strategy Development & Execution:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive University Hiring & Partnership Strategy aligned with business stakeholders, workforce planning needs and enterprise goals
• Define KPIs to measure the success of university hiring programs and partnerships
• Stay ahead of industry trends in campus recruiting, internship programs, early-career hiring and UR marketing to refine and communicate strategies accordingly across the enterprise

University & Academic Partnerships:

• Identify and establish strategic partnerships with top universities, colleges, technical schools, and industry organizations
• Develop a long-term relationship with external stakeholders eg career services, faculty, student organizations, and research centers to strengthen then company’s presence on campus
• Organize and participate in career fairs, networking events, and guest lecture opportunities to engage with student and faculty
• Drive Collaboration with universities and internal stakeholders on research projects, curriculum development, and sponsorships to enhance employer branding

Early Career & Internship Programs:

• Design and oversee structured internships, co-op, and graduate hiring programs to build a strong early-career talent pipeline
• Work with hiring managers to identify entry-level roles, rotational programs, and apprenticeship opportunities within the organization
• Develop standardized assessment and selection processes for interns and recent graduates
• Ensure a high-quality candidate experience from application through onboarding and full-time conversion

Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning:

• Collaborate with HR and business leaders to forecast entry-level hiring needs and align university recruiting efforts with business objectives
• Develop campus recruiting materials, career development content, and employer branding campaigns to attract top students and graduates
• Leverage data analytics to assess university hiring trends, candidate conversion rates, and overall recruitment effectiveness
• Implement tool and technologies to streamline campus recruitment, interview scheduling, and candidate engagement

Employer Branding & Engagement:

• Lead initiatives to strengthen the company’s employer brand on university campuses and social media platforms
• Develop digital and in-person engagement strategies, including virtual career events, hackathons, case competitions, and industry mentorship programs
• Ensure consistent messaging and brand alignment across all student outreach efforts

Qualifications

Key Qualification & Experience:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in talent acquisition, university recruiting, employer branding, or workforce strategy, preferably within a multinational matrixed corporate setting
• Skilled in recruiting, managing and leading a team of direct and matrixed recruiters, as well as University Recruitment Program Leads, to drive to talent acquisition success
• Proven track-record in developing and managing university partnerships and early-career hiring programs
• Strong understanding of campus recruitment best practices, workforce planning, and candidate engagement strategies
• Experience working with HR technologies, applicant tracking system (ATS), and recruitment marketing platforms
• Excellent communication, relationship management, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities to assess hiring trends and optimize recruitment strategies

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with global university partnerships and international recruitment
• Knowledge of labor market trends, skills development programs, and emerging workforce needs
• Global Technology / Semiconductor Company Experience

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 [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 05/15/2025 (3 months from posting), 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.