David A.

David A. has extensive experience in engineering within the data storage and semiconductor industries. Beginning as a Process Development Engineer at Veeco from October 2004 to May 2009, David developed Ion Beam Etching and Deposition equipment and processes. In June 2009, David joined Western Digital, progressing to Senior Staff Engineer, where leadership in creating scalable bevel/shield process blocks and ion beam etching processes was demonstrated. David then took on the Senior Manager role, overseeing thin film deposition and etch process development in wafer fabrication and managing vendor qualifications for multimillion-dollar tools. Since October 2020, David has served as Director of Engineering at Western Digital, leading the Thin Films Team in ePMR writer development and driving the technology roadmap for dense HDD writers. David holds a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.