Operational Technology Engineer

About the role

Holcim, a global building materials and building solutions company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, is hiring an Operational Technology Engineer. The role covers the design, deployment, standardisation and governance of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), acting as the bridge between these systems, the ERP and the business. It drives automation and digital transformation by feeding high-fidelity data to advanced analytics, IIoT platforms and optimisation tools.

Key responsibilities

• Define and implement corporate-wide ICS/TIS standards and multi-year technical roadmaps aligned with business goals, and train and mentor plant OT teams
• Implement Plant of Tomorrow solutions and support the product roadmap for new PCS/MES features
• Design interfaces between the shop floor (PCS/DCS), laboratory (LIMS) and business layer (SAP)
• Support the full lifecycle of ICS/MES deployments, from site assessment and vendor coordination to go-live support and upgrades
• Develop, optimise and troubleshoot industrial data communication protocols and networking standards (Modbus, OPC UA/DA/HDA)
• Collaborate with the Cybersecurity team on protection of OT data systems and maintain documentation of data architecture and SOPs
• Run global training programmes, manage a corporate knowledge base and influence senior stakeholders on digital initiatives
• Work with Maintenance, Production, Quality Control, IT and PM&E, and oversee site-level OT performance and cybersecurity

Required profile

• MS or PhD in Electrical, Electronic or Automation Engineering
• 3 years as a plant automation/systems engineer in the process industry
• 3 years managing industrial data systems (historians, MES) and industrial networking
• 3 years in cement (an advantage)
• English technical fluency; Spanish, German and French are an advantage
• 30% international travel worldwide

Required skills

• OT systems: ICS, SCADA, DCS, PLCs, MES
• OT security awareness and familiarity with IEC 62443
• Industrial networking: Ethernet/IP, Profinet, Modbus, OPC UA
• Cloud platforms, IoT and prototyping languages such as Python

What we offer

• Hybrid work contract
• Subsidised child care and paid maternity/paternity leave
• Company-sponsored training and professional development
• Subsidised meals, discounts and company gifts, long-service awards and employee referral bonus
• Pension fund and employee savings scheme