Gummy Production & Product Development Associate
Location: Rockville Centre, NY, with regular travel to West Babylon, NY, and Northern New Jersey
Job Type: Full-Time
Schedule: Monday–Friday, with occasional flexibility based on production needs
Compensation: $21.00 per hour, with opportunities for increased compensation and responsibility as the company grows
Transportation: Reliable personal transportation is required (reimbursement for extended travel)
About the Position
We are seeking a motivated, creative, and detail-oriented Gummy Production & Product Development Associate to support our growing gummy manufacturing and packaging operations.
We are not simply looking for someone to follow existing recipes. We want someone who is naturally curious and always looking for ways to improve recipes, enhance product quality, increase production efficiency, create new products, test new ideas, and help turn promising concepts into finished products.
The ideal candidate enjoys cooking and making things, takes pride in creating high-quality products, and has a genuine passion for the cannabinoid, supplement, wellness, functional-food, or confectionery industry. This person should be eager to learn, willing to experiment thoughtfully, and excited about becoming highly knowledgeable in gummy manufacturing and product development.
This is a hands-on position involving gummy production, cooking, ingredient preparation, packaging, inventory management, sanitation, product development, quality control, and communication with our two outside production partners.
The employee will primarily work from our Rockville Centre facility and will regularly travel to:
- Our production partner in West Babylon, New York.
- Our production partner in Northern New Jersey.
The right candidate will be comfortable working in a commercial kitchen or food-production environment, maintaining accurate records, communicating professionally with outside partners, and assisting wherever needed to complete production and packaging projects.
Primary ResponsibilitiesGummy Production
- Assist with all stages of gummy manufacturing, including ingredient preparation, weighing, measuring, mixing, cooking, flavoring, coloring, depositing, curing, coating, finishing, and packaging.
- Follow established recipes, formulas, batch records, standard operating procedures, and production instructions.
- Accurately weigh and measure ingredients using production scales and other measuring equipment.
- Monitor cooking temperatures, timing, consistency, Brix, pH, texture, appearance, flavor, and other production measurements.
- Operate gummy cookers, depositors, mixers, heating equipment, molds, scales, thermometers, and related production tools.
- Prepare molds, trays, cookware, ingredients, utensils, work surfaces, and equipment before each production run.
- Remove gummies from molds and perform coating, sugaring, sorting, counting, inspection, and finishing work.
- Identify and report issues involving texture, flavor, consistency, appearance, curing, depositing, or packaging.
- Maintain accurate batch records and document ingredients, quantities, production results, finished-product counts, and waste.
- Assist with troubleshooting production problems and testing practical solutions.
- Help improve production methods, organization, efficiency, consistency, and overall output.
- Assist with both large production runs and smaller research-and-development batches.
Recipe Improvement and Product Development
- Regularly evaluate existing recipes and production processes for possible improvements.
- Suggest ways to improve gummy taste, texture, appearance, stability, consistency, shelf life, and manufacturing efficiency.
- Assist with developing new gummy formulas, flavors, coatings, shapes, formats, and product concepts.
- Prepare test batches and carefully document all ingredients, measurements, procedures, and results.
- Compare test batches and provide thoughtful feedback regarding flavor, texture, appearance, ease of production, and overall product quality.
- Research ingredients, flavors, production techniques, and product ideas when directed.
- Help scale successful test recipes into repeatable production formulas.
- Identify promising new product ideas that fit the company’s brand, customers, and production capabilities.
- Approach product development creatively while still following company procedures, safety standards, and applicable regulations.
- Maintain organized records of recipe changes, test results, observations, and approved formulas.
- Protect the confidentiality of all recipes, formulas, ingredients, processes, and product-development information.
Packaging and Fulfillment
- Count, weigh, bottle, pouch, label, seal, code, case-pack, and prepare finished gummies for storage, shipment, or delivery.
- Inspect packaging and labels for accuracy, appearance, proper seals, lot numbers, expiration dates, and required information.
- Verify that the correct product, quantity, label, packaging, and documentation are being used.
- Assemble boxes, apply labels, organize packaging materials, and prepare completed products for delivery.
- Help fulfill wholesale, production-partner, sample, and other company orders.
- Maintain accurate counts of finished products, work-in-process inventory, damaged products, and packaging waste.
- Assist with operating labelers, heat sealers, coding equipment, scales, and other packaging machinery.
- Keep packaging stations clean, organized, and properly stocked.
- Identify and report packaging defects, labeling errors, damaged products, or count discrepancies.
Inventory Management
- Receive, count, inspect, label, organize, and store ingredients, packaging materials, finished goods, and production supplies.
- Maintain accurate inventory records for ingredients, bottles, pouches, labels, boxes, molds, tools, equipment, and finished products.
- Track all materials transferred between our Rockville Centre facility and our production partners in West Babylon and Northern New Jersey.
- Deduct ingredients and packaging materials from inventory as they are used.
- Conduct regular physical inventory counts and compare actual quantities against company records.
- Investigate and report inventory discrepancies, damaged materials, missing items, and unexpected usage.
- Monitor ingredient and packaging levels and notify management before supplies run low.
- Track lot numbers, expiration dates, received dates, opened dates, and storage locations when required.
- Rotate ingredients and supplies using first-in, first-out procedures.
- Help develop and maintain simple, reliable systems for organizing and tracking inventory across all three locations.
- Prepare ingredients, packaging, equipment, and documentation for upcoming production runs.
- Confirm that all necessary materials are available before production begins.
- Help coordinate the movement of ingredients, packaging materials, equipment, and finished products between locations.
Production-Partner Coordination and Travel
- Travel regularly to our production partner in West Babylon and our production partner in Northern New Jersey.
- Reliable personal transportation is required for this position.
- Deliver and pick up ingredients, packaging materials, equipment, samples, finished products, and production documents.
- Assist with production, packaging, inventory counts, organization, and quality-control tasks at partner facilities.
- Communicate professionally and respectfully with production partners, facility employees, vendors, and company representatives.
- Confirm production schedules, material requirements, expected quantities, completion dates, and pickup arrangements.
- Provide management with clear updates regarding production progress, inventory, delays, quality concerns, and partner requests.
- Verify material and finished-product quantities when delivering or receiving inventory.
- Maintain accurate records of all items delivered to or picked up from each partner.
- Represent the company professionally while working at partner facilities.
- Help identify and resolve routine production or packaging issues in coordination with management and our partners.
- Build positive, productive working relationships with the teams at both partner facilities.
Quality, Sanitation, and Compliance
- Follow all company sanitation, food-safety, GMP, safety, quality-control, and documentation procedures.
- Clean and sanitize cookware, utensils, molds, machinery, worktables, floors, shelving, sinks, and production areas.
- Complete required pre-production, in-process, and post-production cleaning procedures.
- Prevent cross-contamination and maintain proper separation of ingredients, packaging, work-in-process materials, and finished products.
- Wear required personal protective equipment, including gloves, hair restraints, protective clothing, and other items as directed.
- Report damaged equipment, sanitation concerns, contamination risks, production deviations, or unsafe conditions immediately.
- Follow all applicable procedures for handling ingredients and products in a regulated industry.
- Maintain accurate and complete production, cleaning, inventory, quality-control, transfer, and product-development records.
- Keep production, storage, and packaging areas organized and inspection-ready.
- Follow company confidentiality requirements relating to recipes, formulations, processes, pricing, customers, vendors, and production partners.
Additional Responsibilities
Because we are a growing company, this position will also assist with other operational duties, including:
- Organizing the warehouse, kitchen, production, and packaging areas.
- Ordering or picking up production supplies.
- Preparing samples and small production runs.
- Performing basic data entry and updating spreadsheets or inventory systems.
- Receiving deliveries and verifying quantities.
- Loading and unloading ingredients, packaging materials, equipment, and finished products.
- Preparing materials for inspections, production runs, partner visits, and company projects.
- Troubleshooting basic equipment and production issues.
- Assisting with equipment setup, cleaning, maintenance, and organization.
- Supporting new-product launches and process-improvement projects.
- Performing other production, packaging, fulfillment, inventory, warehouse, product-development, and operational duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Previous cooking, baking, confectionery, culinary, commercial-kitchen, food-production, or manufacturing experience.
- A genuine passion for cooking, creating products, working with ingredients, and making high-quality consumer goods.
- Strong interest in gummy manufacturing, functional foods, supplements, hemp, cannabis, wellness, or the broader cannabinoid industry.
- Creativity and a natural interest in improving recipes, experimenting with new ideas, and developing new products.
- Strong eagerness to learn new recipes, ingredients, machinery, production methods, and inventory systems.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to follow recipes and written instructions precisely.
- Comfort working with measurements, weights, temperatures, percentages, batch calculations, and production records.
- Strong organizational and inventory-management skills.
- Ability to communicate professionally with outside production partners and internal team members.
- Ability to work independently while also following direction and contributing as part of a team.
- Dependable, punctual, honest, responsible, and accountable.
- Willingness to clean thoroughly and maintain strict sanitation standards.
- Comfortable performing repetitive production and packaging tasks while maintaining accuracy.
- Ability to identify problems, communicate them promptly, and help develop practical solutions.
- A valid driver’s license.
- Reliable personal transportation. We will reimburse extended travel.
- Willingness and ability to travel regularly to West Babylon and Northern New Jersey.
- Ability to use email, spreadsheets, computers, and basic inventory or production software.
- Ability to maintain the confidentiality of company recipes, products, processes, and business information.
Preferred Qualifications
- Professional culinary, candy-making, gummy-making, baking, pastry, or confectionery experience.
- Experience working in a commercial kitchen, food-manufacturing facility, dietary-supplement facility, or regulated production environment.
- Experience working with pectin gummies, gelatin gummies, syrups, candy cooking, depositing equipment, or confectionery machinery.
- Experience developing or improving recipes.
- Experience testing new products and documenting recipe changes.
- Experience with GMP procedures, sanitation logs, batch records, lot tracking, and quality-control documentation.
- Previous inventory, warehouse, purchasing, or production-planning experience.
- Experience communicating with contract manufacturers, co-packers, vendors, or outside production facilities.
- Mechanical aptitude and an interest in learning how to operate, adjust, clean, and troubleshoot production equipment.
Physical Requirements
The employee must be able to:
- Stand and work on their feet for extended periods.
- Perform repetitive hand and arm movements associated with cooking, depositing, packaging, and labeling.
- Lift and carry ingredients, cases, supplies, and equipment weighing up to approximately 50 pounds.
- Bend, reach, push, pull, and move materials throughout production and storage areas.
- Work safely around hot liquids, heated equipment, commercial cooking equipment, and food-production machinery.
- Load and unload materials from a personal or company vehicle.
- Drive between Rockville Centre, West Babylon, and Northern New Jersey as required.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who:
- Loves cooking, experimenting, creating, and making physical products.
- Is always thinking about how a recipe, product, or production process could be improved.
- Brings forward thoughtful new ideas instead of simply waiting for instructions.
- Takes ownership of their work and follows tasks through to completion.
- Understands that cleanliness, accuracy, documentation, and consistency are essential in food production.
- Is comfortable working in a growing company where responsibilities may vary from day to day.
- Communicates clearly instead of allowing problems or delays to go unreported.
- Treats production partners, coworkers, products, ingredients, equipment, and company property with respect.
- Enjoys hands-on work and is willing to assist with both product development and routine production tasks.
- Wants to become highly knowledgeable about gummy manufacturing and the cannabinoid-products industry.
- Is interested in building a long-term career and taking on greater responsibility as the company grows.
Compensation and Growth
The starting rate for this position is $21.00 per hour.
There will be opportunities to grow within the company, increase compensation, take ownership of additional projects, participate more heavily in product development, and assume greater production or operational responsibility based on performance, reliability, initiative, and the needs of the business.
How to Apply
Please send your résumé along with a brief, three-sentence email addressed to Chris explaining:
- Why you enjoy cooking, creating, building, or making things.
- Why gummy production and product development interest you.
- Why you believe you would be a strong fit for this hands-on position.
Applications that do not include the requested three-sentence email may not be considered.
Pay: $21.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
