Head Roaster

Single O; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Single O is seeking a Head Roaster to lead our Botany roasting operations. You will manage a hands-on roasting team, ensure on-time production, and maintain quality and safety standards across all roastery outputs.

The ideal candidate has 3–5+ years in specialty coffee roasting, strong sensory skills, and proven leadership in production environments. This role offers growth within a passionate coffee-focused company with a commitment to quality and sustainability.

Qualifications

• Q-Grader certification or equivalent sensory qualification.
• 3–5+ years roasting coffee within a specialty environment.
• Strong sensory analysis and cupping skills.
• Experience leading teams in a high-paced production setting.
• Knowledge of green coffee attributes, grading, intake and inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily roasting operations to meet demand while maintaining a clean, safe and well-controlled working environment.
• Ensure production plans are delivered in full, on time and to specification, with a target of at least 95% plan execution.
• Maintain and develop roast profiles to ensure consistency and flavour integrity.
• Manage roasting staffing levels, rostering, workflow and resource allocation across daily and weekly production, QC/QA, maintenance and cleaning schedules.
• Coordinate with inventory and coffee stakeholders on green coffee deliveries, blends, featured coffees and product development to ensure adequate stock is available for the production schedule.
• Maintain accurate daily and weekly green coffee stock records and ensure the roasting team uses established tools, software and procedures for operational control.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of coffee roasters, building coffee knowledge, sensory skills, roasting techniques, equipment maintenance capability, and food safety and quality standards.
• Foster a culture of communication, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, accountability and food safety awareness across teams.
• Identify, train and develop a capable second-in-charge to support operational continuity, cross-functionality and succession planning.
• Conduct performance conversations as required and provide clear, constructive feedback.
• Conduct daily cuppings and sensory evaluation to maintain flavour targets, consistency and quality standards.
• Support green coffee assessment and selection processes.
• Maintain QC and QA records, HACCP documentation and production records accurately and on time.
• Champion quality assurance, food safety, HACCP compliance and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure all products meet Single O's flavour and quality expectations.
• Share and reinforce safety and quality best practice across the business.

Skills

Roasting knowledge

Sensory skills

Team leadership

Quality focus

Food safety

Education

Q-Grader certification

Tools

Roasting equipment

Quality management tools

Inventory software

Job description

Hey! We're Single O - coffee obsessives, flavour chasers, and people who genuinely care about doing things well.

We're looking for a Head Roaster to lead our daily coffee roasting operations in Botany. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who loves coffee, thrives on quality, and gets excited about developing people, refining processes, and delivering production in full and on time.

You'll lead a team of coffee roasters, oversee manufacturing performance, green coffee intake and inventory flow, maintain equipment reliability, and work closely with our Head of Coffee to ensure every coffee leaving our roastery reflects what Single O stands for.

This isn't just about hitting production targets. It's about protecting flavour, building roasting capability, maintaining food safety and HACCP standards, driving continuous improvement, and helping us continue pushing specialty coffee forward.

What do we want?

A coffee professional with deep roasting knowledge, strong sensory skills, and a genuine passion for quality. Someone who can lead a team, make confident decisions, and balance the science, art, and operational realities of producing exceptional coffee at scale.

You'll be equally comfortable on the cupping table, on the production floor, coaching your team, or working through opportunities to improve efficiency and consistency.

Key Responsibilities:

Oversee daily roasting operations to meet demand while maintaining a clean, safe and well-controlled working environment

Ensure production plans are delivered in full, on time and to specification, with a target of at least 95% plan execution

Maintain and develop roast profiles to ensure consistency and flavour integrity

Manage roasting staffing levels, rostering, workflow and resource allocation across daily and weekly production, QC/QA, maintenance and cleaning schedules

Coordinate with inventory and coffee stakeholders on green coffee deliveries, blends, featured coffees and product development to ensure adequate stock is available for the production schedule

Maintain accurate daily and weekly green coffee stock records and ensure the roasting team uses established tools, software and procedures for operational control

Lead, coach, and develop a team of coffee roasters, building coffee knowledge, sensory skills, roasting techniques, equipment maintenance capability, and food safety and quality standards

Foster a culture of communication, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, accountability and food safety awareness across teams

Identify, train and develop a capable second-in-charge to support operational continuity, cross-functionality and succession planning

Conduct performance conversations as required and provide clear, constructive feedback

Quality & Coffee Excellence

Conduct daily cuppings and sensory evaluation to maintain flavour targets, consistency and quality standards

Support green coffee assessment and selection processes

Maintain QC and QA records, manufacturing documentation, HACCP records, incident reporting and production documentation accurately and on time

Champion quality assurance, food safety, HACCP compliance and continuous improvement initiatives

Ensure all products meet Single O's flavour and quality expectations

Share and reinforce safety and quality best practice across the business, including fire safety training and regular exercises

Monitor compliance records and documentation to support HACCP, WH&S, food safety and other relevant quality standards

Equipment, Maintenance, Safety & Continuous Improvement

Oversee roasting, loading and weighing equipment performance, preventative maintenance, cleaning activities and servicing schedules

Use maintenance tools and reporting processes to manage equipment uptime, fault resolution, calibration schedules and root cause analysis after breakdowns

Develop and maintain SOPs for roasting equipment and help ensure equipment is operated, cleaned and maintained consistently

Analyse roasting data to optimise profiles, reduce variability and improve production consistency

Monitor waste and support waste reduction initiatives across roasting and packing, including annual improvement targets

We'lllove you if you have:

Q-Grader certification or equivalent sensory qualification

3-5+ years' experience roasting coffee within a specialty coffee environment

Strong sensory analysis and cupping skills

Experience developing and maintaining roast profiles

Leadership experience in a high-paced production setting, including team development, mentoring and succession planning

Knowledge of green coffee attributes, grading, intake, inventory management and sourcing principles

Strong organisational and planning skills

Experience working in a fast-paced manufacturing or production environment

Experience with lean manufacturing principles

Familiarity with HACCP principles, food safety standards and ISO 9001 quality management systems

Ability to maintain and improve quality systems, documentation, compliance standards and manufacturing reporting

Proficiency in data analysis, process optimisation and using operational tools to support repeatable roasting and manufacturing control

You’ll be:

Passionate about coffee and committed to quality

A strong leader who enjoys developing people, building capability and creating a capable second-in-charge

Detail-oriented and highly organised

Adaptable and proactive in problem-solving, process improvement and continuous learning

Collaborative, values-driven and aligned with Single O's sustainability and sourcing principles

Solutions-focused and calm under pressure

Someone who takes ownership and leads by example

Single O - No Single Culture.

We’re proudly powered by people from all walks of life. So come as you are - your unique vibe is welcome here.