A disc drive has a rotatable disc carried by a spindle motor and an actuator assembly with a read/write head. A base deck supports the spindle motor and the actuator assembly and defines a connector opening for transmitting electrical signals from the read/write head through the base deck to a printed circuit board attached to an exterior surface of the base deck. A bulkhead connector is adhesively affixed to the base deck to cover the connector opening. The bulkhead connector comprises a backing plate and a flex circuit bonded to the backing plate. The flex circuit extends across a top surface of the backing plate, wraps around one edge of the backing plate, and extends across a bottom surface of the backing plate.