Cider Maker I – East Boston, MA

Location: The Shipyard, East Boston, MA
Status: Full-Time | Current Opening
Schedule: 1st Shift (6am–2pm) or 2nd Shift (12pm–8pm)
Compensation: Starting at $20/hr, scaling with experience

Why Join Downeast?

Building a world-class brand takes a world-class team. Here's what the job comes with:

Health & Wellness: Medical and dental insurance from Day 1, plus company-paid short-term disability.

Time Off: 16 PTO days in your first year, plus paid holidays, sick days, and bereavement.

Family Support: Paid parental leave.

The Future: 401(k) with a 4% company match.

Support: Annual PPE stipend for your gear.

The Perks: Company-wide holiday party and a consistent cider allowance. Keep your fridge stocked.

No Experience? We'll Train You.

Previous production experience is preferred, but we will fully train anyone with the right work ethic, attention to detail, and mechanical aptitude. You'll learn fermentation, cellar operations, and lab procedures on the job. If you've homebrewed in your kitchen, that counts for something here — it means you already ask "why" about the process. And if you do have professional experience, it shows up in your starting pay.

The Mission

The Cider Maker is the heartbeat of our production. Your mission is to master the technical craft of fermentation and cellar management to ensure every drop of Downeast meets our "unfiltered" standard.

Note: We are actively hiring for an immediate opening on our cellar floor. Qualified candidates move directly into our active interview process.

What a Shift Looks Like

You're in the cellar — offloading raw juice, pitching yeast, checking gravities and temperatures on active fermentations, and running sanitary transfers with pumps and hoses. You'll operate the centrifuge and pasteurization systems, run CIPs on brite tanks and fermentation vessels, log your data, and run lab checks to confirm the product is stable. Some days you're tasting and blending. It's technical, physical work in a working cellar — hot, cold, damp, sometimes all three — and the cider that ships is the cider you made.

What You'll Do

The Craft of Fermentation: Pitch yeast and nutrients; monitor gravities and temperatures. Schedule rackings, fermentations, and fining. Deaerate and carbonate finished product to exact specifications. Taste and blend ciders, developing a palate for consistency and innovation.

Cellar Operations: Offload raw juice and manage ingredient storage. Conduct sanitary transfers of liquid ingredients using pumps and hoses. Operate specialized equipment, including our centrifuge and pasteurization systems. Perform rigorous CIPs on brite tanks and fermentation vessels.

Quality Control: Maintain meticulous data in Google Sheets or our ERP system. Conduct lab procedures — titrations, cell counts, and more — to ensure product stability. Adhere to all sanitation and quality control processes without exception.

Who You Are

Safety-first. You understand that a world-class team starts with a zero-incident environment.

A disciplined operator. You follow SOPs to the letter and take pride in a perfectly executed CIP.

A self-improver. You learn new technical tasks quickly, ask "why" to understand the process, and use feedback to sharpen your skills.

Physically gritty. You're comfortable lifting 50+ lbs repeatedly and working in the elements — hot, cold, damp, and confined spaces.

A reliable teammate. You show up on time, communicate early when things fall behind, and bring the determination needed to keep the cider flowing.

What You Need

Must be at least 21 years old (federal & state alcohol regulations — this role includes tasting). (flagged — see note below)

Availability for at least one of our core shifts (6am–2pm or 12pm–8pm).

Ability to perform physically demanding work in a production environment, including lifting 50+ lbs repeatedly.

Ability to give and receive "unfiltered" feedback in a fast-paced setting.

Bonus Points

Previous cellar, brewery, or food/beverage manufacturing experience.

Homebrewing or home cidermaking experience — seriously, it counts.

Knowledge of pasteurization, heat exchange, or fluid transfer.

Proficiency in Google Sheets and ERP systems.

A background or interest in food science, chemistry, or biology.

One More Thing

After you apply, we'll send you a short Wonderlic assessment. Everyone who applies takes it — it's part of the process, not a trap. If you're going to complete it, apply. If you're not, this saves us both an email.

Don't check every single box? We value grit, hustle, and reliability above all else. If this role speaks to you, apply — no "to whom it may concern" required.

About Downeast Cider

We first started fermenting batches of cider up at Bates College in 2011. We have a few more teammates now. You can now buy our cider in tens of thousands of retailers, not just a couple of bars in central Maine. It takes us 15 minutes to make a pallet of cider, not the 12 hours it took in the early days. We're diversifying beyond cider, but our aim remains the same:

We aspire to be an enduring company. If we create value for our customers, we create value for ourselves through fulfilling work and robust compensation. To do this requires a world-class brand, and a world-class team.

We define our culture by seven principles. You can read more about those principles on our website.

Unfiltered Hiring

We like to hire the way we like our cider: unfiltered. With the understanding that we can learn and grow from each other's differences, we are proud to hire regardless of gender, race, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age, or anything else that makes us who we are.