Coffee Quality Assurance Technician

Benefits: 401(k) Dental insurance Health insurance Vision insurance Location: Sacramento, CA (roasting facility / warehouse) Reports to: Quality Assurance Manager Employment type: Full-time, non-exempt (hourly) About Java City Since 1985, we've been a family-run, direct-trade coffee roaster on a mission bigger than coffee: transforming lives. We believe everyone should win in every transaction, and we've built this company that way for four decades — through a beverage truck, a warehouse, a distribution network, and soon a retail storefront with our name on the glass. We're working to become an employee-owned and operated company that directly supports the coffee farming communities we buy from, because the same care that goes into every drink we make should reach the people who grow it. This is a seat at a table still small enough for your voice to matter, and ambitious enough that your effort has a real path toward becoming something you'll one day hold a piece of. Right now, a few of those seats are empty, and we're looking for someone who wants to fill one. The Role The QA/QC Technician is the eyes and hands of Java City's quality program on the floor. Working under the direction of the Quality Assurance Manager, you'll run the day-to-day checks that prove every lot meets specification — grading green coffee as it arrives, verifying roast color and moisture, cupping production lots, checking packaging, and keeping the records that show all of it happened. This role is for someone who likes precision, takes pride in clean documentation, and wants to grow inside a quality program that is still being built. What You'll Do • Inspect what comes in the door. Sample and inspect incoming green coffee, packaging, and other inputs against Java City's specifications, including green defect counts and moisture readings; record lot numbers and supplier documentation for traceability; and tag and segregate nonconforming material for the Quality Assurance Manager's disposition. • Check the roast. Perform in-process and finished-product checks such as roast color, moisture, weight, and visual defects at the frequencies set in the quality plan, and alert production and the Quality Assurance Manager right away when a result falls outside spec. • Cup and evaluate. Set up and take part in cupping sessions using established protocols, log sensory results, and pull and label retain samples for each production lot. • Verify packaging and labeling. Confirm seal integrity, net weight, lot codes, and label accuracy, including ingredient and allergen statements where applicable, before product is released. • Monitor food safety and sanitation. Carry out the monitoring and verification activities assigned to you under the facility's food safety plan and Current Good Manufacturing Practices, such as pre-operational inspections, sanitation checks, and pest-activity observations, and record them accurately and at the time they are performed for review by the facility's Preventive Controls Qualified Individual. • Keep the records clean. Complete inspection logs, hold and release records, calibration records, and corrective action documentation accurately and on time. The records you create are the ones auditors and customers will read. • Maintain lab equipment. Perform routine calibration checks on scales, moisture meters, roast color analyzers, and other instruments, and report any instrument that falls out of tolerance. • Support corrective action and audits. Gather data and samples for root-cause investigations, help carry out corrective and preventive actions, and assist with internal audits, mock recalls, and customer or third-party audit preparation. • Work safely and help others do the same. Follow Java City's Injury and Illness Prevention Program and Lockout/Tagout procedures, take part in scheduled safety inspections, and report hazards, near misses, and injuries promptly. What You Bring Required • One or more years of experience in quality control, laboratory work, or production in a food, beverage, or other regulated manufacturing environment, or equivalent technical training • The ability to follow written procedures and specifications precisely, and to recognize and escalate a result that is out of spec • Accurate, legible record-keeping, comfort with basic math (averages, percentages, weights and measures), and comfort with spreadsheets or electronic data entry • The ability to perform sensory evaluation of coffee, including taste, aroma, and visual assessment of color and defects, with or without reasonable accommodation • Willingness to complete the food hygiene, food safety, and sensory training Java City provides after hire • Clear communication with production staff, and the confidence to raise a concern when something doesn't look right Preferred • Experience in coffee roasting, specialty coffee, or other beverage production • SCA Coffee Skills Program coursework in Green Coffee or Sensory Skills, or interest in pursuing it, with a long-term path toward Q Arabica Grader licensure • Completion of a Preventive Controls for Human Food or HACCP training course • Familiarity with a GFSI-benchmarked certification scheme such as SQF or BRCGS • Coursework or a degree in food science, chemistry, biology, or a related field Physical Requirements and Work Environment This is a hands-on role, and most of the work happens on the roasting floor, in the warehouse, and in the cupping lab. The essential functions involve standing and walking for extended periods; bending, reaching, and handling samples and instruments; climbing stairs or ladders to pull samples or inspect equipment; and lifting and moving sample bags, product cases, and supplies of up to 50 pounds. Sensory evaluation involves tasting and smelling coffee samples and visually assessing roast color and defects. The work environment includes heat from roasting equipment, moderate to loud noise, coffee dust and chaff, and forklift traffic; personal protective equipment is provided where required. Java City provides reasonable accommodation to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities and engages in a good-faith interactive process with anyone who requests one. #J-18808-Ljbffr Java City