Production Operator

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Company Overview

Dandelion Chocolate

Dandelion Chocolate Website
Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment the beans we buy. The journey a bean takes to become a bar (or experience, gift, or hot chocolate) involves careful planning and tracking that is almost inevitably accompanied by surprises: containers get stuck on ships, bar paper arrives in the wrong color, a surprise monsoon delays a new machine from Japan, or ribbon set aside for the holidays was accidentally packed into one of four pallets headed to offsite storage. Our small but mighty team looks to our Inventory Planning and Ops Manager to forecast the sales of our items and ensure we have the right products in the right places at the right times in the right amount. Additionally, our IP and Ops Analyst will help answer various types of “what if” questions to determine the most profitable course of action across an array of choices.

Equal Opportunity Employer. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, women, gender non-conforming people, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ people, veterans, and adults of all ages are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.

About the Job
A few snapshots from a typical day: Your morning starts by performing the final quality check on our chocolate bars before placing them on speed racks to get ready for wrapping. In the afternoon, you prep chocolate molds in the tempering room or feed molds into the tempering line, always keeping safety and your space in mind. You confidently weigh and pack out ground chocolate destined for pastry chefs and confectioners around the country. Every task you tackle is done with quality and care. You’ll be working with a team of very passionate chocolate makers in a dynamic and unique environment. When materials or equipment push us to reconsider our plan, this team leans into a continuous improvement mindset to overcome together and push onward. This full-time position starts at $23.50/hour.

About You
Chocolate production can be dynamic and subject to starts and stops, requiring operators who assess, communicate and regroup. You are eager to help the team, offering assistance where it is needed. You are self-motivated and feel great satisfaction with a spotless workspace where every item is in its place. Throughout the day, you work efficiently and with an eye for the quality standards necessary for the factory space. The team knows they can rely on you to help them clean up a chocolate spill or give an extra hand when a task takes longer than expected. Above all, you are a team player with a passion for working with a quality product.

Job Categories

Hours: Full-time
Position is Entry-level

Job Duties

- Safety-minded -- We work with both light and heavy machinery each day and our team members depend upon each other to maintain strict safety standards.
- Team work -- You have a positive attitude, people want to work with you again (and again and again.)
- Self-starter -- Ask questions and comply with company policies and service procedures. You have excellent time management skills. You use your time efficiently and proactively ask for other tasks when you have unexpected downtime.
- Cleaning and organizing -- Tidy and organize chocolate production area including cleaning to ensure a safe, clean, and hazard-free workspace at all times. Wash dishes and tools using our industrial dishwasher.
- Making chocolate bars- support the safe and efficient operation of our tempering line by cycling tempering molds and communicating with the tempering team as we hit targets!
- Foiling, wrapping, and labeling chocolate bars-- Operate foiling and wrapping machine to help reach production throughput goals. Support inline labeling, wrapping and quality control standards.
- Grinding and packing chocolate -- Safely operate a grinding and granulator machine to refine down solid chocolate and package ground chocolate into bags and boxes.
- Forklift Operation -- Obtain necessary certification to operate the forklift and pallet jack.
- Other tasks as necessary

Job Requirements

- Availability -- Available full-time Tuesday-Saturday from 8:00-4:30. Starts Monday-Friday and will transition to Tuesday-Saturday.
- Kitchen or factory experience -- Previous experience working in a kitchen or factory, especially the habits of sanitation, labeling and dating finished products, and working thoughtfully around other team members and with machinery.
- Physical Strength -- Ability to perform tasks requiring bending, stooping, walking and standing throughout shift. This is a physically demanding role.

Skills/Experience Preferred

Compensation

starts at $23.50/hour

Benefits

The benefits and perks continue beyond a robust chocolate education. Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members have the option to enroll in our 401k program. All employees receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, our team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, local gym discounts, chocolate tasting opportunities, the chance to travel to origin and our Japan locations, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.

Hours

Full-time

Resume Required

Yes

Cover letter Required

Yes

Other Application Requirements

Dandelion is growing and we are invested in employees who take ownership over their role and are interested in contributing in a bigger way with us. Please submit a resume. We look forward to hearing from you!

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