Chocolatier
About The Position
Astor Chocolate Corp. is seeking a skilled and innovative Chocolatier to lead daily operations within our chocolate kitchen and manufacturing environment. This role combines hands-on chocolate production, product innovation, recipe development, and operational leadership across molding and enrobing lines. The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in chocolate and/or confectionery manufacturing, along with a passion for chocolate craftsmanship, process improvement, and high-speed production operations. This individual will serve as both a technical chocolate expert and operational leader, ensuring efficiency, quality, consistency, and innovation across all kitchen and manufacturing activities. This is a highly collaborative, high-impact role with strong growth potential and the opportunity to directly influence new product development, manufacturing processes, equipment optimization, and team development.
Requirements
- 3–5+ years of experience in chocolate and/or confectionery manufacturing environments.
- Hands-on experience with chocolate processing, tempering, molding, enrobing, depositing, or high-speed chocolate manufacturing equipment.
- Prior leadership or supervisory experience in a production or chocolate manufacturing environment.
- Strong operational, troubleshooting, and process improvement capabilities.
- Experience with recipe execution, chocolate production workflows, and confectionery manufacturing processes.
- Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-demand manufacturing setting.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and ability to learn ERP systems.
- Excellent communication and team leadership skills.
Nice To Haves
- Experience as a Chocolatier or Chocolatier Chef.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish).
- Experience supporting chocolate product development and commercialization.
Responsibilities
- Partner closely with R&D, Sales, and Production teams to develop innovative chocolate and confectionery products for multiple customer channels.
- Participate in hands-on chocolate formulation, recipe refinement, flavor development, and product trials.
- Support development of new chocolate products from concept through commercialization.
- Evaluate ingredients, inclusions, fillings, coatings, and chocolate applications for functionality, scalability, and quality.
- Conduct kitchen trials and pilot runs while documenting formulas, procedures, and process improvements.
- Bring creativity and chocolatier expertise to enhance product quality, appearance, texture, flavor, and overall customer experience.
- Collaborate on continuous innovation initiatives and seasonal or custom product development.
- Maintain strong understanding of chocolate tempering, viscosity, crystallization, molding, enrobing, and confectionery production techniques.
- Operate, troubleshoot, and optimize high-speed chocolate manufacturing and molding equipment as needed to support production demands.
- Oversee daily operation and efficiency of molding, enrobing, depositing, cooling, and chocolate handling systems.
- Drive equipment uptime, throughput, labor efficiencies, waste reduction, and overall production performance.
- Partner with Maintenance teams to troubleshoot mechanical issues and coordinate preventative maintenance activities.
- Monitor line performance and identify opportunities for process optimization, automation improvements, and operational efficiencies.
- Train and mentor team members on proper equipment operation, changeovers, setup, sanitation, and safety procedures.
- Support rapid response to production issues to minimize downtime and maintain production schedules.
- Ensure equipment and production processes meet all GMP, HACCP, SQF, and food safety standards.
- Develop and manage daily and weekly production schedules based on order timelines, ingredient availability, allergen requirements, equipment capacity, and staffing.
- Review scheduling communications and prioritize SKUs for production.
- Enter and manage production work orders in Astor’s ERP system (Minted), ensuring accurate access to batch details, specifications, and materials.
- Coordinate ingredient availability and submit requests to warehouse teams as needed.
- Participate in daily production meetings and adjust schedules based on operational needs.
- Track priorities, timelines, and project progress.
- Lead daily startup meetings and assign tasks to kitchen personnel.
- Drive accountability for performance, ensuring adherence to safety, quality, and efficiency standards.
- Coach, mentor, and develop team members to improve productivity and engagement.
- Ensure all operators are properly trained on equipment and processes.
- Conduct performance reviews and provide constructive feedback.
- Enforce company policies, including progressive discipline when necessary.
Benefits
- Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
- 401(k) with company match
- Paid Time Off (PTO) & Paid Holidays
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Professional Development Opportunities
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
