Associate, Corporate Development Analyst

Key Responsibilities Financial Modeling & Deal Economics • Lead financial modeling and deal economics independently including DCF/valuation, trading and transaction comps, accretion/dilution, synergy analysis, and deal structuring. • Build and defend sophisticated financial models from scratch, including stress-testing assumptions under executive scrutiny. • Develop unit economics, return analyses, and value-creation frameworks for M&A and venture opportunities; support investment thesis development with rigorous quantitative underpinning. Target Landscape & Pipeline Management • Map and maintain target landscape: research acquisition candidates, track competitor M&A activity, and maintain the deal pipeline and CRM. • Conduct primary and secondary research to identify and prioritize acquisition, JV, and investment targets; support pipeline reviews and portfolio prioritization discussions with Corporate Development leadership. Deal Materials & Executive Communication • Produce executive-ready investment memos, deal summaries, and Board materials. • Translate complex financial and strategic analysis into clear, compelling narratives for senior leadership. WD Capital & Venture Support • Support WD Capital: conduct company and technology diligence on startup investment opportunities and develop investment thesis independently for venture opportunities in storage, data infrastructure, and AI adjacencies. • Build relationships with VCs, accelerators, and startup ecosystems to support deal sourcing. Cross-Functional Partnership • Partner closely with Finance, Legal, HR, and business leaders throughout the deal lifecycle to enable due diligence coordination, risk assessment, and integration hand-off. • Build trusted relationships with cross-functional stakeholders and drive coordination with minimal senior oversight. • 3–6 years in investment banking, private equity/growth equity, corporate development, or management consulting where financial modeling depth and analytical rigor were clearly demonstrated.  • Transaction execution experience required - must have worked on live deals through diligence, negotiation, and close. • Exceptional financial modeling and quantitative analysis skills; can build models from scratch across valuation, alternative deal structures and economics, and can defend assumptions under executive pressure. • Experience producing investment memos, Board materials, and executive-ready deal summaries with minimal senior oversight. • Familiarity with due diligence workstreams across Legal, Finance, HR, IT, and technical/product. • Operates independently, drives workstreams to completion, and delivers against tight deadlines. Demonstrates strong attention to detail, proactiveness, and independence. • Familiarity with market intelligence platforms (PitchBook, CapIQ, etc.)) • Excellent written and verbal communication skills. • Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills; data visualization a plus. Preferred Qualifications • Prior experience in highly technical industry  • Experience across multiple deal types e.g., strategic M&A, joint ventures, divestitures, commercial partnerships, cross-border transactions. • Deep-tech venture investing experience.    Education • MBA or equivalent work experience/progression strongly preferred. • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related analytical field. Location • San Jose, California (must be willing to relocate). • Flexibility for remote work within established company policies. • 10-20% travel including domestic and international travel to meet with targets, advisors, investors, partners, and industry events.   What Makes This Role Unique This is a high-impact execution role at the center of Western Digital's