Apprentice Chocolate Maker

Dandelion Chocolate; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 30,307 - 41,328; Full time

Job summary

Dandelion Chocolate's Apprentice Chocolate Maker role is based in our 16th Street Factory in San Francisco, joining the Production Team at L2 level. The position is full-time with a starting wage of $26.25 per hour and a pay increase after training.

You will participate in roasting, sorting, winnowing, tempering and molding chocolate bars, learning our craft hands-on while helping scale production of our single-origin chocolate in a busy factory environment.

Qualifications

• Weekend availability on weekends (Sat or Sun)
• Positive outlook in shifting priorities/machines
• Kitchen know‑how: experience in a commercial kitchen or production facility preferred
• Physical aptitude: able to stand, move, and lift up to 50 pounds

Responsibilities

• Production: learn and perform all steps of chocolate making (sorting, roasting, winnowing, starting batches, refining, conching, tempering, grinding, foiling, wrapping and labeling) and contribute to daily targets (e.g., 550 kg beans, 8‑10 roasts/day, 7000 bars, 13+ conches/week)
• R&D and Quality: taste and evaluate chocolate bars for flavor and quality; identify off notes and origin types
• Sanitation & Maintenance: clean and maintain the production facility and machines; assist with mold washing and floor cleaning
• Team: collaborate with the team to hit daily production goals; maintain a positive attitude
• Guest facing: support site visitors; be welcoming while ensuring safety
• Other tasks: stay curious, ask questions, and help as needed

Skills

Kitchen know-how

Job description

Location: 16th Street Factory

Job Title: Apprentice Chocolate Maker

Level: L2

Hours: Full-time, $26.25/hour

Department: Production Team

Report: Production Manager

Apprentice Chocolate Maker

About Us

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment the beans we buy. We’re always on the search for good cocoa beans, and now we’re looking for an Apprentice Chocolate Maker to help our production team scale up and craft our single origin chocolate.

About You

You should love chocolate as much as we do, but you don’t have to know everything — we’ll teach you everything we know. After adequate shadowing and hands‑on training, you will join our production team in their daily routine — roasting, cracking, sorting and winnowing cocoa beans, then tempering and molding chocolate bars. This is a physical job, but it’s a labor of love. This is an opportunity to be part of the team working at our large factory on 16th Street where we are scaling up our processes and production, while striving to make some of the world’s best chocolate.

You must be comfortable working with machinery and willing to go with the flow as processes change and develop and to work independently as well as with our team of chocolate makers. We prefer that candidates have worked in the food and beverage/culinary or manufacturing industry, as it helps with the pace and demands of this position. This full‑time role starts at $26.25/hour with an increase after training. We’re looking for someone who is eager to learn about chocolate, has a positive outlook, and likes to get their hands dirty.

Responsibilities

• Production: Learning and performing all steps of chocolate making: sorting cocoa beans, roasting, winnowing, starting batches, refining and conching, tempering, grinding, and foiling, wrapping and labeling bars. Contribute towards our daily goals of sorting 550 kg of cocoa beans, roasting 8‑10 roasts a day, tempering 7000 bars, and making sure we hit our target of 13+ conches a week. You can walk through the factory with a Senior Chocolate maker and be able to describe our processes and procedures per station and talk about how chocolate is made.
• R&D and Quality: Tasting and evaluating chocolate bars for flavor and quality. You can tell if the flavor or consistency of a batch is slightly off. You can blindly tell where at least 7 chocolate bars country of origins are. You actively participate in Continuing Chocolate Education classes and stay curious about learning more about chocolate.
• Sanitation & Maintenance: Cleaning and maintaining our production facility, including machines. You assist in projects such as the washing of bar molds, bins, sweeping the floor, and using the bucket washer. You know how to operate all of our chocolate machines safely, and are familiar with all of our machine SOPs and order of procedures.
• Team: Work with the team to hit our daily production goals. You have a positive attitude even when things don’t always go as planned and your team wants to work with you again and again.
• Guest facing: While this role does not require leading tours, we frequently have tour groups coming through to visit the factory, crews filming, and many curious guests around the factory. Be a welcoming presence at the factory while being mindful of safety.
• Other tasks as necessary. You stay curious and ask lots of questions, you are always willing to help and see projects through.

Requirements

• Weekend availability: Available from 7:30 am-4 pm, with one weekend day (either Saturday or Sunday).
• Positive outlook: Even among shifting priorities or broken machines, you are able to keep a healthy perspective and remain positive.
• Kitchen know‑how: Prior experience working in a commercial kitchen or production facility preferred, especially with a team. Comfortable with repetitive tasks.
• Physical aptitude: This position requires that you be moving on your feet for most of the day and to occasionally lift objects up to 50‑pounds. Must be able to stand, bend, squat, and use hands for tasks requiring both fine and gross motor skills.

Benefits

The benefits and perks continue beyond a robust chocolate education. Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members receive heavily subsidized medical, vision, and dental benefits as well as the option to enroll in our 401k program. All team members receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, our team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, chocolate tasting opportunities, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.

How to Apply

Dandelion is growing and we are invested in employees who take ownership over their role and are interested in contributing in a bigger way with us. If you are interested, we’d like to see your resume and a cover letter (optional) that includes a short description of your favorite food experience or influence. Keep in mind that we value passion, attitude, and hard work, so tell us what inspires you to want to join our production team.