Digital and Sustainability Engineer Review

CMMS: administrative and technical support, PM visualisation, PM/asset hierarchy management.
Predictive maintenance: vibration data analysis, deployment piloting on a packing line, sensor diagnosis.
Digital transformation: data validation for auto-causal losses and OEE across multiple packing lines, Data analysis via Kusto/PowerBI, operator line software training and support, SQL upskilling.
Sustainability: energy saving projects (condensate recovery, factory-level energy visualisation, machine-level energy visualisation pilot).
Air quality: monitoring and data analysis of particulate matter concentrations, sensor deployment.

Yes - I expected, as a placement student, to be given menial/admin tasks exclusively. My manager fortunately gave me a breadth of different projects to maximise my exposure to engineering at Unilever, which was greatly appreciated.
I wish that I could have gotten more stuck into projects with more complexity/length to them (especially in digital) but could understand why this may not have been best for someone just starting out their career!

Skills learned:
-Business acumen (bring skills learned from other aspects of my life to facilitate experimentation)
-Project management (different from Uni as you have to learn to manage people and work!)
-Purpose (this one is very important in Unilever, I have learned a lot from workshops offered about my nature being pragmatic, wanting to experience new things and take risks - this inspires my actions to drive positive change in the people around me)
Skills developed:
-Personal mastery (set high standards, constantly be open to change and try to empathise with others, i.e., XYZ technology could ease operators to do ABC)
-Agility (continually developing my skills, i.e. learning SQL/Python)
-Talent catalyst (created an inclusive climate through events hosted in-person and online via the Empower Network to promote diversity)

This is my biggest point to improve on for future students. My manager was exceptionally busy and often wasn't able to support when I had questions. I also had no handover and very limited training when starting projects, which halted progress. Our 1-2-1 sessions were often cut short due to my manager having other meetings, and felt rushed.

Culture was generally good, although I felt clear divides between factories and the office. Factories would often prioritise quality and efficiency over piloting new technologies, which would make progress slow. Atmosphere was a lot faster-paced in supply chain/factories compared to other functions.

I enjoyed it for the most part.
The good:
- Varied and (mostly) interesting work
- Culture was inclusive and respectful
- Pace of work was good
- Was inspiring to be supported/surrounded by experts
To improve:
- More support and contact with my manager, i.e. to progress projects which I was often not getting traction from others on
- A cross-functional flex project
- More time to develop my skills (Python/SQL)
- More exposure to other Unilever's sites/the wider business
Overall score: 7/10

Yes