Career Overview
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
Also Known As
- Coffee Roaster
- Machine Operator
- Roaster
- Roasterman
Alternate Job Titles
- Automatic Oven Operator
- Bakery Production Associate
- Bakery Production Worker
- Bakery Worker
- Baking Assistant
- Bean Roaster
- Belt Conveyor Drier
- Bone Char Kiln Operator
- Bun Panner
- Buttermilk Drier Operator
- Chocolate Temperer
- Cocoa Bean Roaster
- Cocoa Roaster
- Coffee Roaster
- Continuous Process Coffee Roaster
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities include:
- Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
- Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
- Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
- Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
- Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
- Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
- Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
Knowledge You'll Use
You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:
- Production and Processing
Essential Skills
Success in this career requires strong skills in:
- Operations Monitoring
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Near Vision
- Problem Sensitivity
- Oral Comprehension
- Perceptual Speed
- Control Precision
- Category Flexibility
- Selective Attention
- Information Ordering
- Speech Recognition
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Stress Tolerance
- Perseverance
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Support
- Relationships
- Working Conditions
- Independence
- Achievement
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
On-the-Job Training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months
Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- Microsoft Excel
Tools & Equipment
- Automatic hopper scales
- Baking equipment
- Box barns
- Centrifugal coffee roasters
- Char kilns
- Conveyor bakers
- Conveyor dryers
- Conveyor turntables
- Cooling machine pans
- Curing equipment
- Dissolved oxygen sensors
- Dough pumps
- Equipment pressure gauges
- Equipment temperature gauges
- Flood handling scoops
Work Environment
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
- Spend Time Standing
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled
- Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable
Salary & Job Market
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $32,390 |
| Median | $42,730 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | $60,070 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 19,500
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
Food Batchmakers
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $40,790
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $40,550
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $49,500
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $47,010
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Education: Less than a High School Diploma
Median Salary: $35,430
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.