Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

What do food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders do?

Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

This describes a U.S. occupation, not a live vacancy. Individual employers may use different titles and requirements.

Job titles to recognize in your search

O*NET reports these titles for this occupation. Compare the responsibilities in each posting before treating titles as equivalent.

• Bean Roaster
• Coffee Roaster
• Line Operator
• Machine Operator
• Oven Operator
• Oven Technician
• Roast Master
• Roaster

Core tasks to compare with a job posting

• 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.
• Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
• Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
• Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.

Prepare an application for this occupation

1. Check the employer’s requirements, location, schedule and any licenses against your situation.
2. Choose two or three tasks above that match the posting and your actual experience.
3. Build a resume evidence worksheet using the skills and software relevant to that employer.
4. Practice explaining your contribution, decisions and results before an interview.

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