Dairy Technologist - Production

Sidsfarm; Rangareddy; On-site; INR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Sid’s Farm, a Hyderabad-based dairy company, is seeking a Dairy Technologist – Production to oversee daily plant operations, ensuring alignment with the planned schedule and quality standards. The role requires supervision of reception, processing, packaging and cold-chain handling, with a focus on GMP, HACCP and hygiene practices.

You will monitor critical process parameters, coordinate with maintenance and QC teams, and ensure accurate documentation and traceability of batches.

Qualifications

• Experience in dairy plant operations and production handling.
• Familiarity with GMP, HACCP and food-safety standards.
• Ability to monitor critical process parameters and ensure product quality.

Responsibilities

• Monitor day-to-day dairy plant operations and ensure production runs as per plan.
• Supervise milk reception, processing, pasteurisation, standardisation, homogenisation, fermentation and packaging.
• Monitor parameters such as temperature, flow rate, pressure, holding time and processing conditions.
• Coordinate with operators, maintenance and engineering teams during production.
• Identify abnormal process conditions and take corrective actions.
• Maintain production records, batch records and process documentation.

Skills

Dairy Production

Production Scheduling

Food Safety

Regulatory Compliance

Attention to Detail

Staff Training

Production Efficiency

Quality Control

Job description

Sid's Farm is a Hyderabad-based dairy company focused on delivering milk and dairy products directly to consumers. The company was started by Dr. Kishore Indukuri, with the objective of making safe, trustworthy milk a norm in Indian homes. Sid’s Farm says it began with 20 cows and has grown into a larger dairy operation serving customers across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Vijayawada.

The company follows a strong quality-first and testing-driven approach. Its current information states that milk is sourced from farmers, chilled close to the point of collection, transported under cold-chain conditions, and subjected to extensive testing before production. The stated process includes milk reception → chilling → pasteurisation → standardisation → packaging → cold storage → dispatch.

Sid’s Farm offers a range of products including milk, curd, paneer, ghee, butter, buttermilk, lassi, beverages and breakfast cereals.

For a candidate interviewing for a plant/production role, one particularly important aspect of the company is its emphasis on testing and food safety. Sid’s Farm states that it performs 10,000+ tests per day and tests milk batches for numerous safety and quality parameters.

Dairy Technologist – Production: Expanded Responsibilities

• Monitor day-to-day dairy plant operations and ensure production runs according to the planned schedule.
• Supervise milk reception, processing, pasteurisation, standardisation, homogenisation, fermentation and packaging operations as applicable.
• Monitor critical process parameters such as temperature, flow rate, pressure, holding time and processing conditions.
• Ensure production equipment is operated correctly and safely.
• Coordinate with operators, maintenance and engineering teams during production.
• Identify abnormal process conditions and take immediate corrective action.
• Ensure smooth changeover between different products and production batches.
• Monitor production output against the daily production plan.
• Minimise product losses, rework, spillage and raw-material wastage.
• Maintain proper production records, batch records and process documentation.

2. Raw Milk Reception & Processing

• Monitor incoming raw milk quality before it enters the production process.
• Coordinate with the QC team for testing of incoming milk.
• Check parameters such as fat, SNF, acidity, temperature, adulteration indicators and microbiological quality, according to the plant's procedures.
• Ensure proper segregation of rejected or non-conforming milk.
• Maintain the cold chain from milk reception through processing and storage.
• Ensure milk is processed within the required time and temperature conditions.

3. Quality Control / QA Coordination

A Production Technologist should work closely with Quality Control (QC) and Quality Assurance (QA) rather than treating quality as a separate department's responsibility.

Responsibilities can include:

• Coordinate with QC for raw-material, in-process and finished-product testing.
• Ensure production parameters meet established specifications.
• Investigate quality deviations and production-related complaints.
• Support root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions.
• Ensure products are released only after meeting required quality specifications.
• Monitor hygiene, sanitation and personnel practices on the production floor.
• Follow GMP, HACCP, food-safety and plant SOP requirements.
• Ensure proper documentation and traceability of batches.
• Support internal audits and inspections.
• Prevent cross-contamination between products and production areas.

This is an important area for a dairy production role.

• Monitor CIP (Clean-in-Place) activities for tanks, pipelines, pasteurisers, fillers and other processing equipment.
• Verify cleaning cycles according to approved SOPs.
• Monitor cleaning parameters such as time, temperature, chemical concentration and flow/turbulence where applicable.
• Ensure proper cleaning and sanitisation before production starts.
• Coordinate with QC for verification of cleaning effectiveness.
• Maintain hygiene standards in processing and packaging areas.
• Report any sanitation failure or hygiene deviation immediately.

5. Production Staff Supervision

• Supervise operators and production workers during shifts.
• Allocate manpower according to production requirements.
• Train employees on SOPs, hygiene, safety and equipment operation.
• Ensure workers follow proper personal hygiene and PPE requirements.
• Monitor employee performance and discipline on the production floor.
• Communicate production targets and process requirements clearly to operators.
• Conduct shift handovers and communicate pending issues to the next shift.
• Prepare and implement daily production schedules in coordination with planning, procurement and dispatch teams.
• Ensure availability of raw materials, packaging materials and manpower.
• Monitor yield and production efficiency.
• Identify bottlenecks in the production line.
• Reduce downtime and unnecessary equipment stoppages.
• Work on process improvements to improve productivity.
• Analyse wastage and identify opportunities for reduction.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance activities to minimise unexpected breakdowns.

7. Packaging & Cold Storage

• Monitor filling and packaging operations.
• Ensure correct product, batch number, manufacturing date, expiry/best-before information and packaging material are used.
• Check packaging integrity and sealing.
• Coordinate with QC regarding finished-product quality.
• Ensure products are transferred to cold storage at the required conditions.
• Monitor cold-storage temperature and maintain the required cold chain.
• Coordinate with dispatch to ensure products are dispatched according to FIFO/FEFO principles where applicable.

8. Safety & Compliance

• Follow plant safety procedures and ensure employees follow them.
• Identify unsafe conditions in the production area.
• Ensure proper use of PPE.
• Report accidents, near misses and equipment hazards.
• Follow food-safety regulations and company SOPs.
• Maintain proper production and quality documentation for traceability.

Key Areas You Should Know for the Interview

For this particular type of role, prepare these topics:

Dairy Processing

• Milk reception
• Chilling
• Homogenisation
• Standardisation
• Cream separation
• Fermentation
• Curd/yoghurt production
• Ghee and butter processing
• Packaging and cold storage

Quality

• Fat and SNF
• Acidity
• MBRT
• Antibiotic testing
• Adulteration testing
• Microbiological testing
• Sensory evaluation
• Shelf-life
• HACCP
• GMP
• CIP
• CCP and critical process parameters

Production

• Production planning
• Yield calculation
• Process losses
• Downtime
• OEE/basic efficiency concepts
• Preventive maintenance
• Shift management
• Root-cause analysis

Required Skills

Food Safety Problem-solving Regulatory Compliance Attention to detail Production Scheduling Fast-Paced Environment Dairy Production Processes Staff Training Production Efficiency Quality Control