Manufacturing Management Trainee

Are you looking to start your career by driving high-impact transformation with household brands? Do you crave an entrepreneurial, fast paced and engaging growth assignment working with incredible people from across the globe?

At Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, we are excited to start a new chapter of accelerated growth as part of Froneri – a global pure-play ice cream leader. With nearly 100 years of winning experience in the U.S, a robust portfolio of powerhouse brands that consumers know and love such as Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick, Dreyer’s/Edy’s, Skinny Cow, OREO®, Outshine and Frollies, and the backing and coaching of European-based ice cream experts, we know we have the winning recipe.

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, the Bay Area’s hub for up-and-coming food trends, our DGIC team across our offices and factories is raising the bar on all things ice cream. Our growth has been tremendous in the past few years – moving from being #2 manufacturer in market to being #1 in 2024. The brands have strong investments in marketing support, quality improvements and exciting line extensions and innovation.

DGIC has also been recognized by retail partners as the top manufacturer partner, winning the #1 position in the prestigious Advantage Award in 2024.

At the heart of our culture are four core values that guide our actions and define how we work together.
We Take Ownership by staying committed from start to finish, making thoughtful decisions, and focusing our efforts on initiatives that drive growth, efficiency, and sustainability.
We Do What Is Right by prioritizing transparency, setting clear roles and responsibilities, and speaking up when something doesn’t align with our values.
We Seek to Improve through continuous innovation, embracing feedback, and learning from both our successes and setbacks.
We Are Better Together by making decisions that benefit the whole organization, fostering inclusion through diverse perspectives, and treating everyone with fairness and respect. These values are not just ideals—they are the behaviors we live by every day.

The Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Manufacturing Management Trainee Program is a full-time, immersive 52‑week rotational experience designed to develop the next generation of manufacturing leaders. Over the course of the year, trainees gain hands‑on exposure to all major functions of our plant operations, from production and quality to maintenance and people leadership, equipping them with the technical expertise, problem‑solving skills, and leadership capabilities needed to thrive in a future supervisor or manager role.

Trainees rotate through structured learning blocks, each ending with a formal debrief and knowledge assessment to ensure deep understanding and readiness for progression.

• HR onboarding & administrative setup
• Plant-wide orientation and facility tours
• PPE training and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
• Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) awareness
• Emergency procedures & safety protocols
• Introduction to food safety culture

• Inventory and shelf-life control
• QA checks at receiving
• Non-conformance procedures and vendor claims

• Batching and ingredient processes
• Mixing equipment fundamentals
• Clean-in-place (CIP) for Mix Room operations

• Freezer operation and fundamentals
• Packaging machinery overview
• Fill weights, quality checks, and code date verification
• CIP Production procedures

• Shipping and order preparation
• Inventory management principles
• Deployment and logistics coordination

• Fundamental Management Practices (FMPs)
• Product inspections & sensory evaluation basics
• Allergen awareness and allergen changeover processes
• HACCP training
• Foreign Object Management
• Cleaning verification procedures
• Microbiology lab shadowing

• Parts receiving, inventory, and purchasing workflows
• Machine shop & mechanical troubleshooting shadowing
• Electrical shop shadowing

• Maintenance planning and scheduling
• Line performance analysis and…