An air bearing slider includes a slider body, a head stack portion attached to a rear portion of the slider body, and a transducer contained within the head stack having a pole tip for communicating with a disc. A distance separates a plane containing the bottom surface of the pole tip and a plane containing the bottom surface of the slider body. The head stack portion includes a material that is semi-permanently deformable, and a deformation of the material changes the distance. A method for adjusting a pole tip position in an air bearing slider includes providing an air bearing slider having a material within a head stack portion. A distance separates a plane containing the bottom surface of the pole tip and a plane containing the bottom surface of the slider body. The method includes semi-permanently deforming the material to change the distance.