Summer 2025 Intern, Software Development Engineering (Apps) (No Relocation Provided)

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

Join an internal tools team responsible for multiple applications and databases that provide critical support to Western Digital’s worldwide product engineering teams as they build the next generation of data storage devices. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to work alongside world-class engineers, learn about a foundational technology that powers the modern world (HDDs!), and the chance to deploy your recently acquired skills and knowledge in a real-world use case of Gen AI Summarization. The ideal candidate is a curious, creative, and tenacious problem solver with a passion for AI and software engineering. They are eager to learn, empathetic to users' pain points, and excited by the challenge of creating user-centric software solutions.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop methodologies for evaluating AI models
• Identify optimal base LLM and text embedding models for given use case
• Survey data available for training and,
• Determine best approach to incorporate into training pipeline
• Create project plan for development of a Gen AI Summarization tool
• Project execution responsibilities (if time allows):
  • Develop, test, and deploy Gen AI Summarization tool
  • Participate in code peer reviews
  • Collaborate with end users and content subject matter experts
  • Provide timely updates on the status of your work and communicate clearly with other team members

Qualifications

• Must have right to work in the US without requiring Western Digital to commence or sponsor an immigration case to employ you (for example, H-1B or other employment-based immigration case)
• Be currently enrolled in a Master’s degree program in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (Graduating between May 2026 - December 2026)
• Have completed one or more courses covering Gen AI, LLMs, Machine Learning and/or Data Science
• Possess core understanding of Python, Java, or C++ programming languages
• Have excellent communication and teamwork skills
• Be able to work independently and take initiative
• Commitment to writing quality code and delivering excellent user experiences

Nice-to-have:

• Knowledgeable in file I/O handling and text parsing methods
• Experience with open-source AI tools such as LlamaIndex and Huggingface
• Understanding and experience developing RAG-based applications
• Knowledge of NLP concepts and methodologies
• Understanding of the internal algorithms that underpin candidate LLMs and text embedding models
• Background in Computational Linguistics

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 5/18/25, 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.
• 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 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.