Strategic Account Manager - AI Infrastructure Sales (San Jose)

Company DescriptionWD is building the infrastructure behind the AI-driven data economy.As AI scales, so does data. Every interaction, every model, every system generates data that must be stored, managed, and made accessible over time. That’s where we come in.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.This isn’t theoretical work. It’s real systems, at real scale, people solving some of the hardest challenges in technology today.We’re looking for people who want to build, solve, and operate at that level.Join us and let’s shape the future of data.Job DescriptionStrategic Account Manager – AI InfrastructureAmericas Sales – AI InfrastructureGeography: San Jose, California | Travel: 25%Role OverviewThis role is central to Western Digital’s AI Infrastructure growth strategy, focused on driving datacenter storage adoption across a defined set of strategic platform and infrastructure customers.The Strategic Account Manager is a quota-carrying seller responsible for owning account strategy, expanding multi-year platform opportunities, and converting architectural alignment into repeatable revenue.This role requires the ability to operate at the intersection of infrastructure platforms, software-defined storage, and data lifecycle architectures while navigating complex buying centers.Target Account FocusThis role will focus on strategic software-defined storage, data protection, hybrid cloud, HCI, scale-out platform providers, and infrastructure software companies. The role is expected to understand each customer’s architecture, roadmap, appliance or platform strategy, and long-term capacity growth model, then align WD technologies to their product, qualification, and go-to-market priorities.Customer Segments1. Data Platform & Cloud Software ProvidersCompanies building distributed data platforms, hybrid cloud stacks, HCI architectures, scale-out file systems, and enterprise storage frameworks.Align to software-defined storage, hybrid cloud, HCI, scale-out file, and distributed systems architecturesInfluence long-term product, platform, and validated solution roadmapsDrive integration of storage into large-scale multi-tenant, appliance, and software-defined environments2. Enterprise Infrastructure & Systems ProvidersOrganizations delivering integrated infrastructure solutions across compute, networking, and storage.Position storage within full-stack infrastructure solutionsNavigate product, procurement, and go-to-market organizationsDrive design-ins and platform standardization3. Data Protection & Specialized Storage PlatformsVendors focused on cyber resilience, backup, recovery, archiving, immutable data protection, and high-performance storage use cases.Understand data lifecycle requirements from performance to backup, recovery, archive, and long-term retentionAlign storage economics with deduplication, compression, tiering, scalability, and performance needsDrive capacity growth tied to appliance, reference architecture, cyber resilience, and software-defined platform strategiesWhat You Will OwnStrategic Account Growth & Pipeline OwnershipDevelop and execute multi-year account plans aligned to platform refresh cycles, customer buying centers, and long-term revenue growthMaintain a high-confidence pipeline, drive forecast accuracy, and manage execution cadence across strategic opportunitiesArchitecture-Led Selling & Platform InfluencePosition WD storage within software-defined and AI data architectures by translating workload requirements into infrastructure, scalability, and cost valueEngage customer engineering and product teams to drive design-in, validation, platform standardization, and future roadmap influenceExecutive Engagement & Complex Deal LeadershipBuild senior stakeholder relationships and communicate WD’s value tied to scalability, cost, and long-term platform advantageOwn large, multi-stakeholder opportunities and lead negotiation through close across global organizationsPlatform Ecosystem & Account-Specific GrowthDevelop account strategies tailored to software-defined storage, data protection, HCI, hybrid cloud, and scale-out file platform providersIdentify where WD technologies improve platform economics, density, performance-per-watt, retention cost, and long-term capacity scalingBuild relationships across product management, hardware engineering, qualification, supply chain, procurement, alliances, and executive stakeholdersDrive WD technology qualification into customer appliances, reference architectures, validated solutions, and future platform releasesConvert roadmap alignment into design wins, repeatable platform revenue, and long-term supply commitmentsNew Technology Introduction & AdoptionIntroduce and position new WD datacenter technologies, including UltraSMR, high-capacity HDD platforms, advanced firmware capabilities, and emerging storage innovationsIdentify customer workloads and architectures where new technologies deliver measurable cost, density, power, and scalability advantagesDrive early technical engagement with customer architecture, engineering, qualification, and product teamsCoordinate internal alignment across sales, product, engineering, marketing, and supply chain to support customer adoptionBuild customer-specific adoption plans from technical education to proof of concept, qualification, platform integration, and volume deploymentTranslate customer feedback into roadmap input for future WD products and platform requirementsQualificationsExperience8–12+ years in datacenter, cloud, or infrastructure salesExperience selling into platform providers and infrastructure vendorsExperience selling to or partnering with data protection, HCI, hybrid cloud, scale-out file, or software-defined storage platform companiesProven success managing complex sales cyclesBackground selling solution-based offeringsExperience introducing new infrastructure technologies into strategic accounts, including technical positioning, customer qualification, and adoption planningCore SkillsArchitecture-led solution sellingStrategic account planningUnderstanding of backup, recovery, cyber resilience, HCI, scale-out file, hybrid cloud, and software-defined storage architecturesExecutive engagement and communicationCross-functional influenceComplex deal executionBusiness and financial acumenNew technology introduction and customer adoption planningPipeline and forecast disciplineAdditional InformationWD 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.WD 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.WD 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 View email address on apply.placed-app.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 07/28/2026 (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.#LI-VV1Compensation & Benefits DetailsAn 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 po