Line Cook (Entry Level)

Hiring 1st Shift Line Cooks in Mechanicsburg, PA!

Job Description

This 1st shift Cook role focuses on accurately and efficiently preparing, cooking, portioning, and presenting a variety of hot and cold food items for multiple meal periods, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and special or catered events. You will follow established recipes and standards to deliver high-quality food and excellent customer service in a healthcare/retirement community setting, while maintaining strict food safety, sanitation, and safety procedures.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods, including items that require short preparation times.
• Read food orders or receive verbal instructions and prepare and cook food according to those instructions.
• Prepare and serve food for a la carte service and operate a grill or similar station as needed.
• Follow basic recipes and product directions for preparing, seasoning, cooking, tasting, carving, and serving soups, meats, vegetables, desserts, baked goods, and other menu items.
• Perform food preparation tasks such as measuring and mixing ingredients, washing, peeling, cutting, and shredding fruits and vegetables, and trimming and cutting meat, poultry, or fish.
• Prepare foods under direct supervision or instruction using a variety of kitchen equipment.
• Taste products, read menus, estimate food requirements, check production levels, and maintain records to plan production and requisition supplies and equipment accurately.
• Prepare meals for customers requiring special diets, following all applicable guidelines and standards.
• Produce batch goods using basic cooking and baking techniques when required.
• Provide a consistently high level of customer service to residents, guests, and staff at all times.
• Comply with all applicable federal, state, and corporate standards, guidelines, and regulations to ensure high-quality food service.
• Clean and sanitize workstations, tools, and kitchen equipment and follow all client and regulatory sanitation procedures.
• Attend all required allergy and foodborne illness in-service training sessions.
• Comply with all HACCP policies and procedures and follow company food safety standards.
• Report all accidents and injuries promptly and follow company safety and risk management policies.
• Participate in regular safety meetings, safety training, and hazard assessments.
• Attend designated classroom and virtual training programs to maintain and improve skills.
• Receive inventory, move and lift foodstuffs and supplies, and store items properly.
• Support special and catered events by preparing, cooking, and presenting menu items as requested.
• Work collaboratively with the culinary and service teams to ensure smooth tray line, line cook, and food production operations.

Essential Skills

• Experience in food preparation and cooking in a professional setting such as a cook, line cook, or chef.
• Ability to accurately follow basic recipes and product directions for a variety of hot and cold menu items.
• Strong food preparation skills, including measuring, mixing, washing, peeling, cutting, shredding, trimming, and carving.
• Ability to operate a variety of kitchen equipment safely and effectively.
• Knowledge of or ability to learn HACCP policies, food safety, and sanitation procedures.
• Ability to provide high-quality customer service in a hospitality or food service environment.
• Capability to estimate food requirements, check production levels, and maintain basic production and inventory records.
• Willingness to attend and apply training related to allergies, foodborne illness, and safety.
• Ability to follow safety and risk management policies and report accidents and injuries in a timely manner.
• Flexibility to work a 1st shift schedule with rotating weekends and holidays as business needs require.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in hospitality, healthcare dining, retirement community dining, or similar service-oriented environment.
• Experience working on a tray line or in a high-volume food production setting.
• Baking or bakery experience, including preparing desserts or batch baked goods.
• Familiarity with special diet meal preparation in a healthcare or retirement setting.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced kitchen with moderate to loud noise levels.
• Strong teamwork, communication, and time-management skills.
• Willingness to participate in ongoing classroom and virtual training programs.

Why Work Here?

Join a stable, nationally based organization that supports a retirement community in Central Pennsylvania, offering consistent work without the fear of downsizing or layoffs. You will contribute to a meaningful mission by serving residents in a healthcare and retirement setting while benefiting from a structured, safety-focused environment and opportunities for ongoing training and skill development.

Work Environment

This role operates primarily on 1st shift with rotating weekends and holidays, and may occasionally require extended hours as business needs dictate. You will work in a healthcare and retirement community setting on a tobacco-free campus, primarily indoors, with the possibility of supporting outdoor activities and events. The kitchen environment is typically moderate to loud in noise level and involves the use of a variety of commercial kitchen equipment for cooking, baking, and food preparation. The position requires standing for extended periods, moving and lifting foodstuffs and supplies, and maintaining clean and sanitized workstations and equipment in accordance with strict food safety and regulatory standards.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Mechanicsburg, PA.

The pay range for this position is $18.00 - $18.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a fully onsite position in Mechanicsburg,PA.

This position is anticipated to close on Jun 12, 2026.

About Aerotek

We know that finding work is hard, and finding meaningful work is harder. Aerotek connects 180,000+ light industrial and skilled trades workers with 14,000+ employers each year, helping our workers navigate an evolving labor market and find jobs that meets their goals, skills and interests. Since 1983, we have provided a variety of career opportunities across North American industry – from short-term assignments at Fortune 500 companies where you can build your skills, to long-term opportunities where you can play a vital role solving for companies’ construction, manufacturing and maintenance challenges. Our 1,500+ experienced recruiters across 250+ offices work relentlessly to put our workforce in a position to thrive. Let us rise to meet your challenges and put our people-are everything spirit to the test as your career continues to grow.

Aerotek offers weekly pay, employee benefits including medical, dental & vision, life insurance, health advocacy and employee assistance programs, a 401(k) plan, and employee discounts.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regards to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.