Junior Operational Security Specialist; NLD

Junior Operational Security Specialist (NLD)

Location:

Breda, NL

Hero is a global food company, founded in 1886 in Switzerland, specializing in branded nutritional products across the Growing Up and Adult categories. With a portfolio of trusted brands like Corny, Semper, Goodies, Beech‑Nut, Organix, and Deliciously Ella, Hero delivers high‑quality, great‑tasting food rooted in natural goodness. Guided by its mission to be a leader in better snacking. With 4,000 team members worldwide, the company is driven by strong values, high performance, and a commitment to doing the right thing—always, without compromise.

The Security Specialist is a hands‑on operational cybersecurity role, responsible for day‑to‑day security monitoring, alert investigation and incident handling within the HERO Group. The role acts as a second‑line security function and works closely with SOC/MDR partners, IT teams and business stakeholders to ensure timely detection, analysis, containment and remediation of security threats, in line with NIS2 requirements and HERO security policies.

• Continuously monitor and investigate security alerts from SOC, SIEM, EDR and vulnerability management tooling (Qualys Cloud).
• Perform triage to distinguish false positives from real threats.
• Investigate endpoints, identity, network and data leakage related alerts and determine impact, scope and root cause.

• Act as primary operational handler for cybersecurity incidents.
• Coordinate containment, mitigation and recovery with IT teams and external security partners.
• Ensure incidents are classified, documented and escalated according to HERO procedures.
• Support NIS2‑compliant incident reporting and post‑incident reviews.

• Monitor vulnerability scan results and threat intelligence feeds.
• Assess exploitability and business relevance.
• Coordinate and track remediation actions and follow emerging threats and zero‑day vulnerabilities.

• Monitor and investigate security alerts related to AI usage, including data leakage, misuse of generative AI and suspicious AI‑driven activity.
• Act as point of contact for AI‑related security incidents and support enforcement of secure AI usage guidelines.

• Apply NIS2 requirements in daily security operations, including incident severity assessment, response timelines, evidence collection and documentation.
• Support audits by providing operational insights and incident evidence.
• Work closely with SOC/MDR providers to improve detection quality.
• Identify gaps in monitoring and response and contribute to continuous improvement of security operations and awareness.

• Security operations or blueteam‑oriented certifications.
• Experience with SIEM, EDR and vulnerability management tooling.
• Familiar with managing security settings in Microsoft 365 environments.

• Bachelor level or higher in the field of information technology or 1 - 2 years relevant professional experience.
• Hands‑on knowledge of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti‑virus software, data encryption, and other industry‑standard techniques and practices.
• Hands‑on experience in security monitoring, alert investigation and incident response.
• High level of analytical and problem‑solving abilities.
• Ability to conduct research into security issues and products as required.
• Strong interpersonal and communication (both verbal and in writing) skills.
• Highly self‑motivated and directed.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high‑pressure environment.
• Experienced working in a team‑oriented, collaborative environment.
• Advantage if you certifications or equivalent knowledge of: CC / SSCP; ISO 27001 / NIS2;
  Qualys;
  Sentinel One (EDR);
  Microsoft Azure AD / 365.

At Hero, we believe great companies are built by people who are empowered to make a real impact. We have an open, flexible, and informal way of working, where everyone has a voice in shaping what we do and how we do it. We collaborate with colleagues across our…