Cider Maker

Cider Maker

Location: East Boston, MA (in the Boston Harbor Shipyard)
Schedule : full-time, 8-hour shifts Monday-Friday, first (6 am-2 pm) or second shift (12 pm-8 pm).

*Availability for at least 1 of the 2 shifts is required for consideration, bonus points for full 2 shift availability*

Pay Rate: starting rate is $20 per hour, with additional pay depending on prior experience

Mission of the role:

The Cider Maker plays a critical role on the rapidly growing team at Downeast Cider. This is an opportunity to work in a cidery making truly exceptional ciders. You will learn how we make our unique ciders and be responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day cider production operations, including offloading juice, monitoring fermentation, blending and pasteurizing, transferring product using pumps, operating our centrifuge, and cleaning. You will learn and adhere to all cider-making specific standard operating procedures, quality control processes, and sanitation practices.

This is an excellent role for an entry-level candidate eager to start their career in cider making and learn quickly, or an experienced cider maker ready to take on higher volumes, new flavors, and constant innovation.

What you’ll do:

• Rehydrate and pitch yeast and nutrients
• Monitor gravities, temperatures, and carbonations
• Prepare new ferments
• Schedule rackings, fermentations, and fining of cider
• Deaerate and carbonate finished product
• Taste and blend ciders
• Conduct sanitary transfer of liquid ingredients
• Perform brite tank and fermentation vessel CIPs
• Maintain and manage ingredient storage
• Ensure quality control throughout all aspects of the cider-making process

Who you are:

You’re a disciplined, safety-first employee. You follow SOPs carefully, take ownership of your work, and keep quality top of mind. When things get tough or fall behind, you communicate early and support your team to stay on track. You learn new tasks quickly, ask good questions, and use feedback to improve. You’re comfortable lifting heavy objects repeatedly. You’re able to work in hot, cold, damp, and confined spaces. Above all, you show up reliably, work with integrity, and bring the determination and teamwork needed to help keep our cider flowing.

Bonus points if you:

• Have previous cellar experience (strongly preferred)
• Have knowledge of pasteurization/heat exchange
• Bring knowledge of brewing/vitner chemistry procedures (ta and sulfite titration, cell counts)
• Demonstrate experience working with an ERP system
• aAre proficient in Google Sheets

Don’t check all the boxes? We know there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate, so if this is a role you feel passionate about, we encourage you to apply with a one-page cover letter explaining why this post speaks to you. Drop the “to whom it may concern” and give it to us straight - why you?

What We Offer:

16 PTO days in your first year

Paid holidays

Paid sick days

Paid bereavement leave

Paid parental leave

401(k) with 4% company match

Health & dental insurance from day one

Company-provided short-term disability coverage

Annual PPE stipend

Cider allowance (how big is your fridge?)

All offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, conducted after a conditional job offer has been made. Candidates will have the opportunity to review and respond to any findings.

About Downeast Cider:

We first started fermenting batches of cider up at Bates College in 2011. We have a few more teammates now. You can now buy our cider in tens of thousands of retailers, not just a couple of bars in central Maine. It takes us 15 minutes to make a pallet of cider, not the 12 hours it took in the early days. We’re diversifying beyond cider. But our aim remains the same:

We aspire to be an enduring company. If we create value for our customers, we create value for ourselves through fulfilling work and robust compensation. To do this requires a work class brand, and a work class team.

We define our culture by seven principles. You can read more about those principles here .