Ice Cream Digital and Data – Data Scientist

Please Note: The deadline for applying is 23.59 the day before the job posting end date.

Job Title: Ice Cream Digital and Data – Data Scientist

Location: Colworth Science Park

JOB PURPOSE

The job holder will be a member of the Ice Cream Data Science and Modelling team which is part of the Digital and Data group within the Ice Cream Research, Design and Innovation (RD&I) organisation. The team focuses on driving the in-silico first culture by leading the model building programme in RD&I. The team utilizes the latest digital technologies to foster a data-driven decision-making culture, which in turn will deliver faster and superior innovation, to support the growth of The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

This role is critical to shaping the future of product and process design by leveraging AI, modelling, and simulation to accelerate innovation, improve product performance, and maximise the insights from physical experimentation. The job holder will play a key role in developing and applying data-driven and mechanistic models to simulate food manufacturing processes, optimize formulation-process interactions, and design products that delight consumers—all in silico.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the primary custodian of process data, ensuring quality and completeness
• Apply domain-specific analytics to prepare and validate data for use in modelling and simulation
• Build models that predict relationships between process parameters and formulation properties
• Build models for predictive process design and control
• Collaborate with product developers, process engineers, and digital technologists to ensure process asset maps are up to date to enable accurate simulations and building of digital twins
• Contribute to the development of process digital assets, tools, and platforms that enable scalable model reuse and deployment across RD&I and Supply Chain (Ice cream manufacturing operations).
• Work closely with automation and IoT engineers to streamline data capture from process equipments to enable model building and simulations.

ALL ABOUT YOU

• BEng/MEng/MSc in Engineering (Chemical, Food, Mechanical, Control, Electrical). PhD is an asset.
• Strong experience in food process modelling and simulation tools (e.g., COMSOL, Aspen, gPROMS, CFD packages).
• Strong knowledge of Design of Experiment (DoE)
• Solid understanding of unit operations and process-structure-property-performance relationships in foods.
• Hands-on experience with machine learning, preferably in Python (scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.).
• Experience with hybrid modelling approaches (combining mechanistic and data-driven models) is a plus.
• Familiarity with digital twin technologies and in silico experimentation concepts.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to work across multi-functional teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with an ability to bridge technical detail and strategic vision.

Key Standards of Leadership

• Purpose and Service
• Agility
• Passion for High Performance

​Key Interfaces

• IC RD&I project and workstream leaders and team members
• RD&I Digital and Data group
• RD&I Novel Formats and Process Team
• Ice Cream Manufacturing Operations

NOTES

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze and Pot Noodle.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’  

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all. 

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. 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. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unilever.

Recruitment Fraud

Cyber criminals advertise fake job adverts with prestigious employers as a way of stealing information or even defrauding individuals out of money. In the most sophisticated cases, they will set up fake websites, which have a similar address to companies like Unilever. They even conduct fake telephone interviews and then offer candidates a role with the proviso they pay a fee for background checks or to cover work visa costs.  These types of attacks are becoming more common as more people are looking for employment in the economic climate. 

How is Unilever tackling this?

Many of Unilever’s recruitment sites publish a warning to candidates about recruitment fraud. The Cyber Security team also proactively scan for signs of people setting up fake Unilever sites and act to close them down. 

What can I do?

If you become aware of potential recruitment fraud, spot fake Unilever recruitment adverts or fake LinkedIn profiles, report them via Una Live Chat. 

Unilever does not accept responsibility or liability for any candidates who are financially impacted by recruitment fraud. Your vigilance is key!