Digital Specialist

ABOUT UNILEVER
With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

JOB PURPOSE
Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world. If you are passionate about driving digital transformation, building intelligent applications and safeguarding a connected, AI-ready factory, then this role is just for you!
As Digital, AI & OT Cybersecurity Specialist at our DPC lighthouse factory, you will design and deploy custom digital applications, embed AI and AI-agent solutions into everyday operations, support factory automation and robotics, and own the site’s Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity programme – all aligned to Unilever’s ambition of a ‘100% digital, 0% carbon’ autonomous factory.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE
• Digital Application & Software Development
• Design, develop, test and maintain custom applications on the .NET / C# platform (and Python where appropriate) to connect and communicate with factory hardware, machines and databases.
• Build low-code / no-code solutions using the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI) and integrate them with enterprise systems (SAP, SQL, Azure Data Explorer).
• Integrate pre-existing software modules with newly developed components, perform version upgrades, and follow secure-by-design coding, source control (Git) and CI/CD practices.
• Troubleshoot hardware, software, connectivity and system issues across the site’s digital infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence & AI Agents
• Build, deploy and govern AI and AI-agent solutions (e.g. using Microsoft Copilot Studio, Azure OpenAI, Semantic Kernel / Agent Framework and the Microsoft.Extensions.AI libraries) to automate workflows and support decision-making.
• Apply Generative AI, prompt engineering, machine learning and machine-vision techniques to real factory use cases (quality inspection, predictive maintenance, loss analysis).
• Ensure all AI use cases are logged and comply with Unilever’s Agentic AI Guardrails, Responsible AI and GovernAI requirements.
Automation & Robotics
• Support the design, programming, integration and troubleshooting of industrial robots, cobots and automation cells on the production lines.
• Work with PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, sensors, IoT devices and vision systems to enable automated data collection and closed-loop control.
• Apply Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to eliminate repetitive, manual tasks.
Digital Transformation Delivery
• Execute the physical roll-out of digital transformation initiatives, working with Production and Engineering stakeholders to deliver hardware/software changes on site.
• Coordinate with internal factory stakeholders through the design and implementation phases of digital projects, and act as first point of contact for troubleshooting of digital infrastructure.
Cybersecurity (OT / IT)
• Fully operational knowledge on site cybersecurity programme – conduct detailed OT/IT risk assessments and deploy mitigation actions for all identified cyber risks.
• Apply industrial cybersecurity standards – ISA/IEC 62443 and NIST SP 800-82 – covering network segmentation (Purdue model), zones & conduits, secure remote access and defence-in-depth.
• Implement asset inventory, vulnerability and patch management, monitoring, and OT-specific incident response and recovery aligned to Unilever’s ‘always-on’ cyber resilience standards.
• Deliver cyber awareness and hygiene training for shopfloor and engineering teams.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED
Experience & Qualifications
• Minimum: Diploma or above in Computer Science, Mechatronics, Software / Electronics Engineering or a similar field, with 0–2 years of experience in software development, manufacturing or automation.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s degree, plus hands-on project experience delivering apps, AI or automation in an industrial / factory environment.

Minimum (Must-Have) Skills
• Ability to communicate, read and write in English.
• Proven software development capability in .NET / C# (object-oriented programming, reading/writing/debugging), with the ability to build fairly complex software components; Python is an advantage.
• Foundational understanding of computer networks, IP addressing and general network hardware.
• Basic understanding of electrical wiring / cabling and how software interacts with physical hardware.
• Practical understanding of AI / Generative AI concepts and prompt engineering, with the ability to build or configure AI agents.
• Awareness of cybersecurity fundamentals and willingness to own the site cyber programme.
• Strong self-learning ability, using online resources to acquire new skills quickly.
Preferred (Differentiating) Skills – Aligned to Current Market
• AI & AI Agents: Azure OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot Studio, Semantic Kernel / Microsoft Agent Framework, Microsoft.Extensions.AI, ML.NET, RAG and machine-learning fundamentals (MLOps).
• App Development: .NET 8/9+, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, REST APIs, microservices, clean architecture; Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI).
• Cloud & DevOps: Microsoft Azure, containerisation, Git source control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Robotics & Automation: Industrial robot / cobot programming, PLC & HMI programming, SCADA, machine vision, IoT / sensors and RPA.
• OT Cybersecurity: ISA/IEC 62443 and NIST SP 800-82, OT/ICS security, network segmentation, industrial protocols (Modbus, OPC-UA, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP), MITRE ATT&CK for ICS. Certifications such as GICSP, ISA/IEC 62443 or CompTIA Security+ are a plus.
• Data: SQL, Azure Data Explorer (ADX), data analytics and visualisation.

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity.

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.