Float Packager & Curing Operator (1st Shift)

Lactalis American Group; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 25,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance benefits

Retirement plan contributions

Paid time off from day one

Education reimbursement

Job summary

Lactalis American Group in Belmont, Wisconsin, is seeking a Float Packager & Curing Operator to support packaging and curing operations. The role involves handling cheese, operating curing rooms, labeling, and ensuring product quality in a manufacturing setting.

Requires a high school diploma (preferred) and 2+ years in a food industry. The position offers first shift hours (5:30 am–1:00 pm or 6:00 am–2:30 pm) with starting pay of $22.35/hour plus a 20% weekend premium.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in a food industry setting.
• Attention to detail and adherence to safety protocols.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities

• Monitor quality of packed cheese and verify labeling and codes.
• Load and stack cheese onto conveyors and into master cartons.
• Oversee the crumbler and clear jams or clogs to maintain operation.
• Perform sanitation duties and follow safety procedures.
• Apply labels, seal cases, and palletize products according to standards.
• Support cheese extrusion and cutting processes and report deviations.

Skills

Attention to detail

Safety awareness

Teamwork

Dependability

Reliability

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

Description

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose.
At Lactalis in the USA, we’re committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive—whether you’re just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family-owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we’re proud to produce award-winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani® Italian cheeses and ricotta, Président® specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft® natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s® cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel®, Black Diamond® cheddar, and Parmalat® milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi’s®, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Oui®, Yoplait®, Go-Gurt®, :ratio®, Green Mountain Creamery®, and Mountain High®, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun®, Gopi®, and Arz®.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone’s unique background and ideas are valued.

From your PASSION to ours

Lactalis, Belmont, Wisconsin, is part of the Lactalis family of companies and is currently hiring a Float Packager & Curing Operator. As a Float Packer & Curing Operator, this position is responsible for supporting both packaging and curing operations by performing a variety of tasks related to cheese handling, curing processes, packaging, labeling, and product movement within a manufacturing environment. This role ensures product quality, operational efficiency, and compliance with company standards, food safety requirements, and workplace safety protocols.

Requirements

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Monitor the quality of packed cheese, weighing cheese as required, labeling, print quality, and the accuracy of printed codes.
• Place cheese onto conveyors and/or pack cheese into master cartons.
• Remove cheese from racks and place it into the crumbler, inspecting each piece for foreign material to ensure product quality.
• Oversee the crumbler for jams or clogs and perform necessary clearing to maintain continuous operation while following proper safety measures.
• Hand-stack substandard cheese onto separate racks, and stack empty racks for retrieval.
• Load inners/cases and monitor to keep full, ensuring no downtime.
• Apply labels to products, ensuring proper placement and alignment in accordance with company standards and product specifications.
• Tape cheese cases securely, ensuring proper sealing and adherence to packaging standards.
• Stack cheese cases onto pallets according to specific pallet configuration guidelines to ensure proper organization, stability, and efficiency during storage and transport.
• Turn the cheese in the curing rooms to support proper aging and inspect each piece for foreign material to ensure product quality.
• Maintain accurate cheese counts and report downgrades/dumps.
• Support the cheese extrusion and cutting processes
• Inspect and monitor product quality specifications and report deviations and/or foreign material to ensure product quality.
• Perform sanitation duties.
• Comply with all Lactalis policies, programs, procedures, and documentation requirements to ensure an ethical work environment.
• Champion a safe work environment by performing tasks safely to avoid unsafe acts and unsafe conditions, and take necessary measures if observing unsafe acts.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education

• A high school degree is preferred.

Experience

• 2+ years of experience in a food industry setting is preferred.

Competencies

• Best practices and good industrial practices.
• Safety awareness.
• Teamwork and collaboration.
• Dependability and Reliability.
• Attention to detail.

Pay & Hours: The position is 1st shift, either 5:30 am - 1:00 pm or 6:00 am - 2:30 pm depending on department scheduled in.

Starting rate of pay is $22.35, and weekend Premium an additional 20% ($4.47)

At Lactalis, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards Program with a variety of affordable benefits and coverage options. We support insurance costs significantly, contribute generously to retirement plans, and offer Paid Time Off from day one. We are committed to your professional growth, providing training and development opportunities, including Education Reimbursement. Join us and grow your career.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities. Further, any division of the Company that is an Affinity... etc.