Roaster Production Assistant
True Stone Coffee Roasters — Minneapolis/St. Paul Part-Time · 15 hours/week · Monday, Wednesday, Friday · No weekends
About the Company
True Stone Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roaster with 22 years of experience serving wholesale customers throughout the Twin Cities region — cafes, restaurants, hotels, and food service operations that depend on their coffee program to succeed.
We are coffee professionals first. Everything we sell has to meet our standards, and those standards start on the roastery floor. Clean equipment, organized inventory, and careful production work aren't background tasks here — they're the reason our customers get the same quality in every bag, every week.
We're a small team, which means everyone's work is visible and everyone learns the whole operation. People who start here and pay attention end up knowing coffee from green bean to cup.
Position Overview
The Roaster Production Assistant keeps the roastery running clean, organized, and on schedule. This is an entry-level, hands-on role — no coffee industry experience required — and it's designed as a way into the craft.
Let's be direct about what this job is: a significant part of your week is sanitation and facility upkeep. Roasting equipment, production areas, and the packing floor all need consistent, thorough attention, and you'll own that. It matters more than it might sound — coffee picks up whatever's around it, and a clean roastery is the difference between a good roast and a compromised one.
But it isn't only cleaning. You'll work alongside our roasting team on production, help keep the facility organized and stocked, pack and prepare orders, and sit in on cuppings to develop your palate. You won't be roasting on day one — that's a skill we teach deliberately, to people who've earned it by learning the fundamentals first. This role is where those fundamentals get built.
If you're curious about specialty coffee and want a foot in the door with a real path forward, this is that job.
Schedule
- 15 hours per week, Monday / Wednesday / Friday
- No weekends
- Daytime hours, set in coordination with production schedule
Responsibilities
Sanitation & Facility Standards
- Take a lead role in the cleanliness and sanitation of the roastery, production areas, and equipment
- Clean and maintain roasting equipment, grinders, hoppers, bins, and packing stations on a regular schedule
- Manage chaff, dust, and coffee debris removal to keep the facility safe and up to standard
- Maintain sanitation logs and flag any equipment issues or maintenance needs you notice
Facility Organization
- Help keep supplies, packaging, tools, and materials organized and in their place throughout the facility
- Break down and dispose of boxes, pallets, and packaging waste
- Keep staging and storage areas orderly, accessible, and clearly arranged
- Restock work stations so the production team has what it needs on hand
- Pitch in on general organizing projects around the roastery as they come up
Production Support
- Work alongside the roasting team on daily production
- Weigh, blend, pack, seal, and label coffee for wholesale and retail orders
- Stage completed orders for delivery and assist with loading as needed
- Support order fulfillment accuracy — right coffee, right roast date, right quantity
Coffee Education & Development
- Participate in regular cuppings to build your palate and product knowledge
- Learn coffee origins, processing methods, roast profiles, and quality standards
- Develop toward greater production responsibility over time
Team Contribution
- Learn and work within company policies and procedures
- Help out with tasks outside your role when needed — we're a small company and everyone pitches in
Requirements
- Ability to lift 25–75 pounds on a regular basis
- Ability to stand, bend, and move throughout your shift
- Reliable transportation and consistent attendance on scheduled days
- Attention to detail and willingness to do repetitive work carefully
- Comfortable using basic computer applications for logs and checklists
Nice to Have's
- Interest in or curiosity about specialty coffee — no experience required, willingness to learn matters more
- Previous experience in coffee shops, roasteries, food production, or warehouse work
- Food safety knowledge or ServSafe certification
- A knack for organizing — the kind of person who notices when something isn't where it belongs
- Self-motivated with the ability to work independently once trained
- Ability to take direction and give straight feedback in a small-team environment
Growth Path
This role is built to lead somewhere. Assistants who develop strong fundamentals — sanitation discipline, production consistency, reliability, and a developing palate — become candidates for roast operation training, quality control work, and expanded production hours.
Ethical Standards
The Roaster Production Assistant is expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards and maintain integrity in all work, ensuring the quality and consistency our customers rely on.
True Stone Coffee Roasters is an equal opportunity employer.
Pay: $18.00 - $20.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
