Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
This is a specialization of
Food Processing WorkersCareer Overview Video
AI Impact Assessment
AI Resilience Score
Score 3/6: low AI task exposure, limited human advantage means AI will assist but humans remain essential
How we calculated this:
7% of tasks can be accelerated by AI
+1% projected (2024-2034)
EPOCH score: 9/25
Key Responsibilities
- Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
- Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
- Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
- Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
- Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
- Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
- Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
- Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
- Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
- Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
Education & Training
Typical Entry Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Time to Job Ready
0-1 years
Based on Job Zone 2. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.
Technology Skills
Key Abilities
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Compensation Details
Based on 19,570 employed workers
Also Known As
Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
O*NET Code: 51-3091.00