Warehouse & Packaging Assistant

Who We Are:

WISEACRE Brewing Company is a fast-growing regional brewery located in the gritty but grand city of Memphis TN. We first started brewing in 2013 and now have 2 production facilities along with accompanying taprooms and a pizza kitchen serving up New Haven style pies. Our focus is on making top quality uniquely flavorful beverages but we have a particular passion for lagers as evidenced by our top-selling Great American Beer Festival bronze medal winning Tiny Bomb Pilsner and gold medal winning Sky Dog Lager.

The brewerys core values are summarized with the acronym BEEFY which has nothing to do with beef but which does stand for Bliss Education Excellence Folks and Yourself. These values guide our company culture and operations and were looking for BEEFY folks with a love of craft beverages to join our most ardent wish is to hire an experienced Warehouse & Packaging Assistant who can hit the ground running quickly but we are also open to training a reliable curious candidate who has an abundance of passion fine attention to detail and more limited brewery experience.

The Position:

The Warehouse and Packaging Assistants main responsibilities are to assist in completion of daily warehouse tasks related to orders inventory and maintenance and to assist with packaging processes on can-only or split packaging days. The ideal candidate will be able to increase operational effectiveness in both areas and provide backup for existing staff as needed. To help ensure all aspects of this position are performed as expected measurable metrics will be provided along with regularly scheduled performance reviews. This full-time permanent position reports to the Warehouse Supervisor.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist in completing the daily production schedule
• Assist in the cleaning of bottling/canning/kegging lines
• Perform required adjustments to packaging equipment
• Perform routine maintenance of packaging equipment
• Perform package size changes on packaging equipment
• Troubleshoot minor equipment issues
• Understand and conform to safety requirements
• Alert Packaging Manager to potential quality concerns and maintenance issues
• Operate and perform pre-run run post-run and weekly duties and housekeeping on a variety of packaging equipment including but not limited to: canning/bottle Lines PakTech de-palletizer air compressor keg machine cartoner tray former and forklift
• Perform other routine tasks to keep the bottling canning and keg lines sanitized and in proper working order including but not limited to: Pre-Run and Post-Run Filler Sanitation; Prepare change-over and sanitize machines to be ready for the next shift; Sweep and clean area around equipment; Check for quality and accuracy of produced goods; Follow SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for each piece of equipment
• Assist other packaging staff as needed to give breaks and fill in at other stations
• Ensure packaging machinery are in good working order charged (as applicable) and ready for the next days operation
• Maintain neat and orderly packaging areas including the bottling line canning line kegging area warehouse and all other surrounding work areas
• Adhere to all WISEACRE policies processes and standards in order to maintain a safe and welcoming work environment for self co-workers vendors and guests
• Other duties and special projects as assigned by Packaging Manager

Equipment:

• Wort production is achieved on either a 20bbl JVNW 3 vessel brewhouse (manual) OR a 50bbl BrauKon 4-vessel brewhouse (automated).
• Our fermentation capacity includes an array of 20 40 80bbl FVs with corresponding BBTs at our original facility. Our newer production facility features 200 bbl unitanks.
• We utilize GEA Westfalia centrifuges at both of our locations as well as a GEA carbonation skid at our newer production facility.
• Packaging equipment includes a Meheen bottling line Cask filler Krones Craftmate filler Pneumatic Angelus seamers and IDD kegging equipment.

Schedule:

• Typical operating hours range between 5 AM - midnight and average shifts run between 7 and 9 hours.
• Most production currently happens between Mon-Fri but we expect to add some weekend and night shifts in the not too distant future so scheduling flexibility is a must.
• We aim for a 40 hour work week most weeks and offer overtime when production demands merit it.
• Holidays scheduling varies year-to-year but we generally plan our production schedule to accommodate time off around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Veterans Day is a paid holiday for all full-time veterans on our staff.

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Must be 21 years of age or older.
• High School diploma or GED required
• 1-3 years manufacturing or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Current forklift driver certification or ability to complete certification within 30 days of employment
• Professional written verbal and interpersonal communication skills required
• Must be willing to work nights weekends and holidays as needed.
• Must be able to operate without distraction in a noisy heavy trafficked work space.

Bonus Skills:

• Strong mechanical aptitude
• Deep and abiding love of all things cleaning

Physical Demands:

• This position is extremely physical and demanding in nature and involves working with potentially dangerous equipment machinery exposure to high noise levels and handling of hazardous materials
• Must be able to lift and move heavy objects weighing up to 60 lbs and move 165 pounds safely
• Must be able to stand for the duration of a shift excluding breaks.
• Must be comfortable climbing a ladder working in tight spaces stooping kneeling crouching twisting and bending repeatedly throughout a shift.
• Must be willing to operate in both temperature controlled and temperature uncontrolled environments.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive hourly rates commensurate with experience. We typically offer a training wage of $16/hr to start with increases after 90 days and 1 year of employment depending on performance. Training wage may vary for highly experienced candidates.
• Company subsidized medical insurance with additional opportunities to enroll in group dental vision and short-term/long-term disability insurance. For those who opt in coverage begins on the first day of the month following your month of hire.
• Paid time off that begins accruing on day 1 and can be used after 90 days on the job. Employees accrue up to 10 days in year 1 with increases after 1 and 5 years of employment.
• Employees are not charged for draft beer in our Taprooms and receive a monthly stipend for to-go beer along with additional discounts on merchandise and food from our restaurant.
• Free on-site parking is available for employees at both locations.

Hiring Timeline:

• We will follow up with all qualified applicants within 3 weeks of receiving your application to set a time for a phone screen.
• We expect to schedule interviews beginning in mid-July with a goal of extending an offer by mid-August.
• We are looking to fill 1 position at this time.