Senior Beverage Maker

Gallo; Modesto (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

401(k) plans

Profit sharing

Pet insurance

Company holidays

Employee wine shop access

Job summary

GALLO is seeking a Senior Beverage Maker to lead the creation and scale-up of premium beverages across multiple sites. You will drive the production process from concept to commercialization with a focus on quality, consistency, and innovation, leveraging sensory evaluation and data analysis.

You will collaborate across Operations, Supply Chain, QA, Planning, Legal and Compliance to mitigate risks, optimize processes, and maintain rigorous standards while mentoring a team of Beverage Makers in a

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in science (STEM) plus 5–7 years in beverage-related roles.
• Experience in distillation, beverage production, or winemaking with increasing responsibility.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Lead beverage production from concept through commercialization with QA oversight.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, QA, Planning, Legal and Compliance to manage risks and improve processes.
• Oversee tastings, root-cause analysis, and ensure samples meet style targets with cost balance.

Skills

Distillation

Beverage production

Engineering

Chemistry

Product development

Leadership

MS Word

MS PowerPoint

MS Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree in science (STEM)

Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or Chemical Engineering

Master's degree in science or business (advantageous)

Job description

We’re a family-owned company with a 90+ year legacy, that’s consistently recognized as a Glassdoor “Best Places to Work.” We have 130+ brands in our total alcohol beverage portfolio including wine, malt, spirits, and ready-to-drink beverages. We’re home to the #1 wine and spirits brands in the U.S. - Barefoot Wine & High Noon and are the official sponsors of the NFL, NHL, UFC, and PGA of America.

View our Corporate Values and Mission Statement here.

A Taste of What You'll Do

As a Senior Beverage Maker, you will play a critical role in bringing exceptional alcoholic and non‑alcoholic beverages to life, ensuring quality, consistency, and innovation across multiple production locations. You’ll lead and influence the beverage production process from concept through commercialization, using sensory evaluation, analytical data, and scientific rigor to guide decisions and solve complex quality challenges.

In this role, you’ll partner closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Planning, Legal, and Compliance to proactively manage risks, improve processes, and maintain adherence to established standards. You’ll oversee tastings, guide teams through root cause analysis, and ensure production samples consistently meet style targets while balancing quality, cost, and efficiency.

You’ll also lead and develop a team of Beverage Makers, fostering a culture of inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement. Through structured coaching, clear expectations, and values‑based feedback, you’ll help your team grow while driving performance against business goals.

As part of this role, you’ll support co‑manufacturing operations and help oversee the quality and consistency of key brands, such as High Noon and VMC. You’ll collaborate with internal and external partners, oversee audits, manage production schedules, and provide on‑site or remote guidance to ensure liquid quality and compliance. This is a highly collaborative, hands‑on opportunity for a leader who thrives in a fast‑paced production environment and is passionate about craftsmanship, science, and operational excellence.

What You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in science (STEM) plus 5 years of distillation, beverage production, brewing, winemaking, product development, or engineering experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility; OR a Bachelor's degree plus 7 years of distillation, beverage production, brewing, winemaking, chemistry, product development, or engineering experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility; OR Bachelor's degree in science (STEM) plus 4 years of GALLO experience in distillation, beverage production, brewing, winemaking, product development, or engineering reflecting increasing levels of responsibility.
• Required to be at least 21 years of age.
• Required to lift and move up to 50 pounds.
• Required to be available to support production operations as needed, which may include 24‑hour coverage during critical periods. Extended hours may also be necessary during peak seasons or in response to urgent business needs.
• Some roles are required to travel domestically and internationally. Could require up to 20% travel. In those instances a passport would be needed within 4 months of hire.
• Required to identify variances in beverage color by sight and identify beverage flavors by taste and smell.
• Experience applying concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Knowledgeable in the use of MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Excel at intermediate level.
• Expertise in applying the scientific method.
• Experience applying principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems.
• Skilled in writing reports and business correspondence.
• Candidate is required to have a valid driver’s license, a safe driving record and reliable vehicle (if applicable) at the time of hire. This position will undergo a motor vehicle check (MVR) to confirm a history of safe and responsible driving. If needed, candidate must obtain the appropriate state driver’s license based on the position’s location within 30 days of hire.
• Required to travel to company offices, sites, and/or meeting locations for onboarding, training, meetings, and events for development, department needs, and business delivery up to 5% of the time, with or without reasonable accommodation. This may be in addition to travel requirements, if applicable, as listed in this job description.
• Required to be 18 years or older. This may be in addition to other age requirements, if applicable, as listed in this job description.

How You'll Stand Out

• Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Chemistry, or Chemical Engineering plus 7 years of beverage production/management, distillation, brewing or winemaking reflecting increasing levels of responsibility OR Master's degree in science (STEM), and/or business plus 5 years of beverage production, distillation, brewing or winemaking experience reflecting increasing levels of responsibility.
• Required throughout the year to be available for 24 hour on‑call support of production operations. May required to work some extended hours during certain parts of the year.
• Required to identify variances in beverage color by sight and identify beverage flavors by taste and smell.
• Skilled in applying concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, statistics and proportions to practical situation.
• Skilled in the use of AI, MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Excel.
• Skilled in reading, analyzing, and interpreting general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.
• Skilled learning and adapting to equipment, processes and procedures.
• Skilled at applying principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems.
• Skilled defining problems, collecting data, establishing facts and drawing valid conclusions.
• Skilled carrying‑out assignments that are broad and difficult in nature, requiring originality and ingenuity.
• Skilled in effectively presenting information and responding to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Knowledge and experience with beverage fermentation and distillation including but not limited to process control, production processing, work scheduling and prioritizing and government regulations.
• Knowledge and experience with personnel management fundamentals.

We are committed to providing competitive compensation, perks, and a culture that supports your well‑being. Benefits depend on your work category and may include medical and dental coverage, 401k plans, profit sharing, pet insurance, company holidays, access to an employee wine shop, and more! Additional information will be provided before your first interview.

The Fine Print

• The Company does not sponsor for employment‑based visas for this position now or in the future.
• We offer a broad salary range to allow for long‑term growth. Actual compensation paid within the range will be determined by multiple factors, including, but not limited to, education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, internal equity, and alignment with market data. Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed between the entry point and middle of the range, the decision will be made on a case‑by‑case basis related to these factors. In addition to the salary, this position may be eligible for bonuses, incentive plans, or participate in tasting room tip pools, as applicable.
• This position will be based in the location(s) specified in the job posting and requires working on‑site with no telecommuting option. You will be expected to live within a commutable distance.
• It is the Company’s policy for job postings to be open to internal candidates for a minimum of 5 days and to external candidates, if applicable, for a minimum of 3 days.

Gallo’s policy is to afford equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and not to discriminate on the basis of race, traits associated with race, including but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles (such as braids, locks, and twists), color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition as defined by applicable state law (including cancer and predisposing genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation (actual or perceived), transgender status, sex stereotyping, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, reproductive health decision making, age, military or veteran status, domestic violence or sexual assault victim status, or any other basis protected by applicable law. Nor will Gallo discriminate based on a perception that an individual has any of the foregoing characteristics or is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics.

Gallo will comply with state and local laws prohibiting discrimination for lawful out‑of‑work behavior, such as off‑duty use of cannabis away from the workplace (subject to federal and state law exceptions), the existence of non‑psychoactive cannabis metabolites in hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids as determined by a drug screening test (subject to federal and state law exceptions).

We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Gallo is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please let us know at 209.341.7000.

Gallo is enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify program and will use the program to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees as required.