Quality Technician

Position: Quality Technician I
Who We Are:

Born in a humble shed on the back-forty of the family vineyard, Firestone Walker is a California beer company like no other – founded by two brothers-in-law who simply wanted to make the perfect beer. Now a regional craft brewery, our singular purpose remains – to craft the world’s best beers. Passionately in pursuit of the perfect beer… and never satisfied.

Job Summary:

As a Quality Technician I, your role will be to ensure the quality of products throughout production. It will require daily interactions with production processes and personnel from all areas of the brewery. When performing this role, you will be required to pull samples from tanks, kegs, barrels, production lines and water sources to perform analytical, microbial, packaging or sensory analysis in laboratory environments.

These tests are critical in maintaining the overall quality of what is produced at the brewery. A high degree of accuracy and efficiency will be required.

Essential

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Analytical Complete sample collections for fermentation and brewhouse testing

Ensure general cleanliness of the lab and instrumentation, performs routine maintenance on laboratory equipment and can troubleshoot basic analytical issues.

Maintain QC analytical database; includes, but is not limited to data entry, record keeping, trending, data analysis and follow-up with brewing and cellaring teams on concerning data.

Run routine testing such as bitterness units, color, VDKs, alcohols, end gravities, pHs, haze, and other testing as required.

Work safely and maintain a clean & safe working environment at all times; understand hazards and utilize the appropriate personal protective equipment

Micro

Complete sterile sample collection from all production areas including fermentation tanks, CIP and P3 water samples, oak barrel samples, bright beer tanks, whiskey barrel samples, packaged product, filtration samples, production water samples (DAW, ROW and ozone), and additional samples as requested.

Provide sterile sample containers to packaging staff for micro sampling

Plate a variety of in process, finished product and water samples for microbial analysis

Ensure micro supplies are maintained correctly to ensure sterility before use Prepare media, sterile water, sterile saline and other reagents as needed.

Complete inventory of micro supplies and update order list.

Clean and autoclave micro equipment.

Sensory Analysis Run, record and analyze results from sensory panels

Run panel testing for true to type and release tastings on all packaged products

Complete threshold testing

Complete age profiles to test flavor stability and shelf life Complete descriptive panels for beer flavor attributes and threshold testing

Complete preference and difference tests

Complete raw material tasting, including CO2, RO and de-aerated water

Complete bright beer and fermenter release testing

Maintain the warm and cold beer libraries in an organized

Packaging

Complete BBT release testing and run/check that AE, alcohol, color, pH, micro, CO2 and DO are correct

Complete package testing for CO2, TPO, DO, HSO, AE, alcohol, density, pH, bottle fill heights, crimp checks, secure seal testing, seam checks on cans, and keg testing and sample collection

Pull Micro/Sensory/Analytical samples

All Function Areas Complete all initial and on-going assigned safety training

Required Data Entry Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

Degree in microbiology, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, or food sciences is preferred

At least 2 years of prior experience in a quality monitoring position in a production environment preferred

Other

Skills and Abilities:

Ability to work well in a team environment and manage multiple tasks

Ability to take initiative, act promptly and be proactive with minimal supervision

Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing

Ability to communicate and present information effectively for shift handoff

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals

Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent

Ability to perform mathematical analysis and statistical inference, analysis and report…