16 Jobs in the Food Production Industry (Plus Duties and Salaries)

Updated June 24, 2022

The food production industry offers a wide range of career options for candidates with a variety of skill sets and training backgrounds. If you're interested in getting involved in this field, it can be helpful to learn about potential positions and determine which one matches your professional goals. Understanding the responsibilities for each position can also help you develop the important skills and competencies that allow you to succeed in the industry.

In this article, we list 16 jobs in the food production industry and describe the primary duties and average salaries for each position to help you choose a role that's right for you.

16 jobs in the food production industry

If you're interested in using your skills to help produce, distribute or sell food products, consider these 16 jobs in the food production industry:

1. Janitor

National average salary: $35,015 per year

Primary duties: A janitor is responsible for keeping food production buildings clean and orderly. They may provide a daily cleaning service that manages the general upkeep of the building. Additionally, they often clean unexpected messes and spills to help the company comply with health and safety standards. Ensuring the facility stays clean allows the company to make food products safely and efficiently.

Related: Learn About Being a Janitor

2. Butcher

National average salary: $36,472 per year

Primary duties: A butcher, or meat cutter, is a food industry professional who cuts and prepares meat products. While many butchers work in restaurants, delis or butcher shops, they can also work in meat packaging and production settings. They are responsible for preparing meat for safe packaging and shipping.

3. Quality control technician

National average salary: $41,167 per year

Primary duties: A quality control technician is responsible for ensuring that food products and raw materials meet industry quality standards. They may perform tests on products and materials and observe processes to ensure that they meet these standards. Quality control technicians also often inspect materials or products in all stages of the production process to ensure they maintain consistent quality.

4. Baker

National average salary: $42,409 per year

Primary duties: A baker is a food industry professional who bakes cakes, pastries, pies and bread. This may require knowledge of several recipes and the ability to operate backing machinery. While many bakers work in different food industry settings, they can also produce baked goods for packaging and distribution.

5. Food technologist

National average salary: $42,662 per year

Primary duties: A food technologist oversees food product development, including nutritional information and labeling. They're responsible for controlling food quality and developing new products. This often involves researching product, market and technology innovations and developments.

6. Packer

National average salary: $48,101 per year

Primary duties: A packer is a food industry professional who sorts and packs finished products for storage or shipping. They typically learn about industry health and safety standards to ensure they comply with local and national regulations when handling food products. They often take products from the production line, then prepare them to move to retail or storage environments.

7. Machine operator

National average salary: $56,353 per year

Primary duties: A machine operator is responsible for operating the technology involved in the food production process. While the duties for this position can vary depending on the product a company develops and its technological needs, machine operators often load and unload machines. They may also provide the manual labor necessary for the machine to function. Some examples of food machine operation tasks include operating ingredient sorting or packaging machines.

8. Industrial mechanic

National average salary: $60,796 per year

Primary duties: An industrial mechanic is a food production professional who repairs and maintains necessary production machines and equipment. They provide regular machine checks in order to keep machines running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. If necessary, they may also perform machine repairs or updates like changing faulty parts.

9. Sales representative

National average salary: $64,725 per year

Primary duties: A sales representative is responsible for selling finished food products to customers. They may communicate with retail or wholesale clients with the goal of convincing them to order specific food products. Sales representatives may also add new clients to existing accounts, which may help them increase the company's overall sales numbers.

10. Systems analyst

National average salary: $70,190 per year

Primary duties: A systems analyst is responsible for designing and implementing technological solutions to help food production plants run efficiently. They may evaluate current technology in order to suggest areas for improvement. These technological solutions and advancements allow management professionals to oversee the production plant effectively.

11. Truck driver

National average salary: $70,620 per year

Primary duties: A truck driver is responsible for transporting finished food products and merchandise to retail or storage facilities. They may also transport raw materials to factories. Additionally, truck drivers are often responsible for loading and unloading trucks.

12. Sales manager

National average salary: $72,380 per year

Primary duties: A sales manager is responsible for overseeing the sale of food products. This may involve setting goals, analyzing data and creating promotions to increase sales numbers. A sales manager also focuses on recruiting, hiring and training sales representatives, which can help the sales team sell products more effectively.

13. Production manager

National average salary: $73,146 per year

Primary duties: A production manager is a food production industry professional who oversees the operation of a manufacturing plant. Their goal is to help the plant deliver high-quality products as efficiently as possible. They do this by assessing technology, processes and employee work and developing strategies for improvement. They may also create production goals and develop policies for achieving them.

14. Industrial engineer

National average salary: $73,390 per year

Primary duties: An industrial engineer is responsible for creating safe and efficient workflow patterns within a food production plant. They develop systems that use machines, employees, materials and information to create products in a cost-effective way. Often, their goal is to use careful planning to reduce wastefulness and increase efficiency within production systems and procedures.

15. Materials manager

National average salary: $73,956 per year

Primary duties: A materials manager is responsible for overseeing a food production company's inventory and purchasing. This means that they may record the raw materials needed for production and order new shipments when necessary. They are also in charge of the storage and distribution of finished products and merchandise.

16. Chemist

National average salary: $78,103 per year

Primary duties: A chemist is a food industry professional who researches and reports on the chemical composition of food products and materials. This helps them understand and maintain product quality and address any issues with specific products. Additionally, they often use this information to help develop new products for a company.

16 Jobs in the Food Production Industry (Plus Duties and Salaries)

16 jobs in the food production industry

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