Specialist , OT Security Engineering

The Opportunity 

• Based in Hyderabad, join a global healthcare biopharma company and be part of a 130- year legacy of success backed by ethical integrity, forward momentum, and an inspiring mission to achieve new milestones in global healthcare. 

• Be part of an organisation driven by digital technology and data-backed approaches that support a diversified portfolio of prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. 

• Drive innovation and execution excellence. Be a part of a team with passion for using data, analytics, and insights to drive decision-making, and which creates custom software, allowing us to tackle some of the world's greatest health threats. 

Our Technology Centers focus on creating a space where teams can come together to deliver business solutions that save and improve lives. An integral part of our companys’ IT operating model, Tech Centers are globally distributed locations where each IT division has employees to enable our digital transformation journey and drive business outcomes. These locations, in addition to the other sites, are essential to supporting our business and strategy. 

A focused group of leaders in each Tech Center helps to ensure we can manage and improve each location, from investing in growth, success, and well-being of our people, to making sure colleagues from each IT division feel a sense of belonging to managing critical emergencies. And together, we must leverage the strength of our team to collaborate globally to optimize connections and share best practices across the Tech Centers. 

Role Overview 

The OT Security Engineer (Level 2) designs and delivers project-driven OT cybersecurity solutions that keep pharmaceutical manufacturing secure, reliable, and compliant. You’ll partner with site engineering/automation, operations, network services, and enterprise security to deploy scalable security patterns globally—balancing safety, GxP/GMP quality, availability, and risk reduction—and designing for both existing legacy infrastructure and greenfield deployments. 

The role focuses on security-by-design for OT: Purdue-aligned segmentation, secure remote access, visibility/monitoring, and OT vulnerability management, delivered through repeatable reference architectures, standards, and implementation playbooks across multiple sites 

What will you do in this role 

• Provide IT and OT security expertise, with a focus on building and sustaining a secure manufacturing and laboratory environment. 

• Collaborate with product owners, business stakeholders, and IT Risk Management/Security to identify and assess cyber risks to OT systems, and design and implement effective mitigation strategies. 

• Review and provide input shop-floor and lab-floor firewall rules, balancing usability, operational requirements, and security. 

• Create, review, and approve IT infrastructure designs supporting new OT projects, ensuring alignment with OT security standards and architectural principles. 

• Educate technical teams on OT complexities, ensuring they understand how OT differs from traditional IT and can address the unique constraints and requirements of OT environments. 

• Prepare and deliver project briefings, communicating complex technical topics clearly and effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences. 

Core Technical Skills 

• Strong understanding of OT network architecture and segmentation (e.g., Purdue Model, iDMZ, Zones and Conduits) 

• Hands-on experience with network security controls (firewalls, IDS/IPS, access control, secure protocols)  

• Knowledge of IT/OT convergence risks and secure data flow design across trust zones  

• Familiarity with remote access security solutions (e.g., Zero Trust, privileged access, secure vendor) 

• Solid understanding of OT cybersecurity frameworks and standards (e.g., NIST SP 800-82, ISA/IEC 62443) 

• Knowledge of secure network design, segmentation, and change control processes for critical infrastructure 

Soft Skills 

• Strong communication and collaboration 

• Ability to work with cross-functional teams 

• Problem-solving and analytical thinking 

What should you have 

• Minimum Education Requirement: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. 

• Global collaboration: This role will work closely with colleagues across the U.S. East Coast, Dublin (Ireland), Prague (Czech Republic), and Singapore technology centers. 

• Experience: 3+ years of relevant professional experience. 

• OT/IT security background: Experience designing and operating IT/OT cybersecurity controls for critical infrastructure systems. 

• Firewall governance: Experience reviewing and approving firewall rules, with a strong understanding of the security risks associated with data flows across segmented network zones. 

• Shop floor / lab systems design review: Experience reviewing real-time shop floor and laboratory system designs to ensure data flows meet appropriate security and resiliency requirements. 

• Experience designing or supporting IT and OT systems for manufacturing and laboratory environments in the following domains: Firewalls, Remote Access Management, Network security design & observability 

• Execution mindset: Results-oriented, with a demonstrated ability to develop plans and execute them successfully. 

Preferred Skills: 

• Broad understanding of IT and OT systems supporting Manufacturing & Supply Chain operations, including MES, quality and laboratory systems, resource planning systems, process control technologies, and cold chain / other supply chain systems. 

• Intermediate understanding of industrial/OT security concepts and familiarity with relevant industry standards and guidance, such as NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-82, and related NIST publications. 

• Working knowledge and practical application of the Purdue Model for network segmentation in industrial environments. 

• Prior experience in the pharmaceutical industry is preferred. 

Entry-level cybersecurity certification (e.g., CEH, CompTIA, GISF, GSEC, or similar). 

Who we are 

We are known as Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, USA in the United States and Canada and MSD everywhere else. For more than a century, we have been bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Today, our company continues to be at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions and advance the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and animals around the world. 

What we look for 

Imagine getting up in the morning for a job as important as helping to save and improve lives around the world. Here, you have that opportunity. You can put your empathy, creativity, digital mastery, or scientific genius to work in collaboration with a diverse group of colleagues who pursue and bring hope to countless people who are battling some of the most challenging diseases of our time. Our team is constantly evolving, so if you are among the intellectually curious, join us—and start making your impact today.