Technical Production Operator

Real Pet Food Company; Gold Coast City; On-site; AUD 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Real Pet Food Company in Yatala, QLD, is seeking a highly skilled Technical Production Operator to run and optimise our chubbing line. This role involves precise hot-setting of meat into plastic rolls and accurate clipping and sealing to specification.

It's a fast-paced, safety-conscious environment where you read product and machine behaviour to make real-time adjustments, maintaining quality, yield and food safety.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience operating complex food processing or packaging machinery.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and process awareness.
• Ability to interpret specifications and adjust machinery accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Operate and control chubbing machinery, including plastic roll feed, hot-set parameters and clipping systems
• Set up, adjust and monitor roll tension, alignment, heat application and clip integrity
• Continuously assess product flow, fill consistency and seal performance
• Identify early indicators of roll, seal or product failure and intervene before defects occur
• Troubleshoot machine and product issues using logical fault-finding techniques
• Maintain tight control of specifications to prevent waste, rework and downtime
• Work closely with maintenance, quality and production teams to optimise performance
• Adhere to food safety, hygiene and WHS requirements at all times

Skills

Food processing

Mechanical aptitude

Troubleshooting

Attention to detail

Job description

• Want to work close to home?

• Want to work in a GROWING Industry?

Role location: YATALA

Roster Structure:

This role works to a 4-week roster

Days

Week 1: Tues – Thurs 12 hours (6am-6pm) and Friday 8 hours (6am – 3pm)

Week 2-4: Tues -Thurs 12 hours (6am-6pm)

Nights

Week 1: Mon – 8 hours (9-6am) Tues – Thurs 12 hours (6am-6pm)

Week 2-4: Tues - Thurs 12 hours (6am-6pm)

As we continue to innovate and expand in the Pet Food Industry, we are excited to welcome new members to our Production Team based at our busy Yatala Manufacturing site.

Our production teams are at the heart of our business and are responsible for ensuring we produce our award-winning pet-food products in an efficient, sustainable and consistent manner.

Our Yatala site is known as a 'wet' site so you will need to be comfortable working in and around raw protein.

When you join our Production Teams, you will be working in an environment that is fast-paced and has people from all walks of life and at various stages in their careers. Even though there is an absolute need for consistency around process, no two days will be the same, and you will be with a team that appreciates the need to work together. Our equipment is big, it is loud, and we have a mix of cutting edge and well-established equipment for you to work on.

About the Role

We are seeking a highly skilled Technical Production Operator to run and optimise our chubbing line. This role is responsible for the precise hot-setting of meat into plastic rolls and the accurate clipping and sealing of product to specification.

This is a critical thinking role in a fast-paced production environment. Success relies on your ability to read the product, interpret machine behaviour, and make real-time adjustments to maintain quality, yield and safety.

Key Responsibilities

• Operate and control chubbing machinery, including plastic roll feed, hot-set parameters and clipping systems
• Set up, adjust and monitor roll tension, alignment, heat application and clip integrity
• Continuously assess product flow, fill consistency and seal performance
• Identify early indicators of roll, seal or product failure and intervene before defects occur
• Troubleshoot machine and product issues using logical fault-finding techniques
• Maintain tight control of specifications to prevent waste, rework and downtime
• Work closely with maintenance, quality and production teams to optimise performance
• Adhere to food safety, hygiene and WHS requirements at all times

What Makes This a Skilled Role

This position requires more than following SOPs. You will need to:

• Understand how temperature, pressure, timing and material behaviour interact
• Make judgement calls when product or conditions change
• Balance speed, quality and yield without compromising safety
• Think ahead to prevent failures rather than reacting to them

Skills & Experience

• Demonstrated experience operating complex food processing or packaging machinery
• Strong mechanical aptitude and process awareness
• Proven ability to troubleshoot and problem-solve under pressure
• High attention to detail with a quality-first mindset
• Ability to interpret specifications and adjust machinery accordingly
• Comfortable working in a production environment with heat-based processes
• Previous experience with chubbing, clipping or thermo-based forming equipment highly regarded

What we’re about

Welcome to RPF, where we believe in keeping it Real.

Since 1994, we have been Australia and New Zealand’s pioneers in fresher dog and cat nutrition. Our story is one of passion for a better way to care for pets, a belief in fresher nutrition, and an unwavering commitment to delivering this to pet parents and pets worldwide.

We're dedicated to fostering authentic partnerships, encouraging real ambition, and providing real career opportunities for our employees to make a difference.

Real means fresher ingredients and fresher methods. We'll never stop expanding, innovating, and trying new things. We compete in every pet category and channel, creating favourite brands such as Ivory Coat, Nature’s Gift, V.I.P. Petfoods, Love ‘Em, & Fussy Cat!

Since the establishment of RPF, we have grown to over 900 people across Australia and New Zealand, China, Southeast Asia and Europe.

With the pet industry growing rapidly (a $15 billion industry!) and pets becoming increasingly important in our lives and homes, this is a unique opportunity to be a part of our remarkable growth story and advance your career.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Diversity’s not a buzzword here, it’s in our DNA. Diverse perspectives shape our culture and make our work better. That’s why we’re committed to building inclusive teams that represent a variety of backgrounds and skills. If you need any reasonable adjustments, accessibility assistance or would like to note which pronouns you use at any stage of our hiring process, just contact us at: [e-mail] Please note: NO agencies will be considered during this process. We advise you to refrain from submitting unsolicited profiles.