Western Digital – “internal ASIC group - usual transition problems aplenty (post ST acquisition), but on solid foundation”

Pros

When I was there to assist in the bringup of my vendor's CAD tools, the ASIC group in Lake Forest had a refreshing mixture of entry-level (<2 years exp) engineers), mid-level (5-10 years), and senior/principals (15+ years.) Having seen many workplaces which suffered from 'one-sided' demographic, it was positive to see so many levels of expertise under one division!

In speaking with the more seasoned engineers, it seemed to me the entry-levels were underutilized (not that any of them were complaining!) The team was undergoing a prolonged training exercise -- their assignment would not have any direct impact on revenue product for at least a year.

Also, the ASIC group seemed like the envy of some other departments. A relaxed pace of workday is perhaps preferable to some of the "dungeon" work-hours practiced by other departments.

Cons

WD's mid-2008 acquisition of ST-Longmount (see WD's website for public press-release) hit the Lake Forest team like a surprise earthquake. Such a merger takes massive co-ordination between the senior levels of both parties, yet the direct manager of Lake Forest's ASIC group was given no advanced warning?!? Why would senior management do that? The result?

Some initial overlap/redundancy of personnel between Lake Forest ASIC and the (acquired) Longmount ASIC team (not to worry, there's plenty of work to go around), but more seriously, a loss of focus by both sides. The 'training exercise' was rendered pretty much redundant (tossed aside in favor of Longmount's imported material), though thankfully the trained skill-set is directly re-usable on the imported database. Things will settle down as everyone finds their role in the big machine.

location - Lake Forest, in the middle of nowhere...(10 minutes from 5 freeway.)

Advice to Senior Management

Excessive red-tape to getting things done. Requesting equipment, or knowledge transfers between internal groups takes way too long, and too much micromanagement (on the part of the requester.) 7+ months to approve and order several Linux servers?!? Why?!?

Work balance is a little off -- the entry-levels had too little work (at times), and some of the seniors/principals too much! A good manager/principal knows how to *delegate* responsibility and assignments to others, and follow-up.

These really needs to be addressed, otherwise I fear the stress-level will increase (between the underutilized and the overworked.) Most everybody there is itching to prove their worth, and just need the proper environment to support that.