Bread Baker

Bread Baker

Merzbacher's has been baking naturally leavened bread in Philadelphia for thirteen years — from overnight oven rentals and bicycle deliveries to a wholesale bakery serving around 200 accounts across the region with a team of 44.

Earlier this year we acquired the wholesale operations of Metropolitan Bakery, one of Philadelphia's most recognized bread names, and brought their production into our Germantown facility. We didn't buy it to absorb it. Metropolitan's name, recipes, and standards live on under our roof, alongside our own.

That means we're in a real period of growth and integration. New people, new products, new systems — all at once. Role definitions will keep evolving over the next year. We're looking for someone who can roll with that and help a crew do the same.

The Role

The Assistant Production Manager is the Production Manager's right hand on the bread floor. You run the day when they're off and back them up when they're on.

The core of the job is people and product in real time: keeping a 10–15 person crew motivated and moving so great bread goes out the door regardless of the weather, the volume, or the machine that picked today to act up. The longer arc is taking systems work — scheduling, training, inventory, SOPs — off the Production Manager's plate as you grow into it.

You should already be an expert on rack oven and bench. The path of this role is learning mix and deck so you can lead any station on any shift.

What You'll Do

Lead the floor

• Direct flow, set pace, and make real-time calls to prevent bottlenecks
• Coach in the moment — reinforce what good looks like, correct what isn't
• Hold the line on cleanliness, organization, and process discipline
• Keep the environment positive and focused under pressure, and lead constructive problem-solving when things go sideways

Bake at a high level

• Work at expert level across every station you've trained on, and lead by example
• Catch quality issues early, correct them on the spot, and flag patterns
• Learn to execute formulas accurately and assist with product inventory

Run inventory, receiving, and prep

• Assist with ingredient inventory and ordering against established pars
• Receive deliveries, verify against POs, flag shortages and quality issues
• Coordinate prep tasks across the crew and help build better systems for them
• Maintain storage organization and FIFO discipline across dry storage, warehouse, and freezer

Drive cross-training (our top priority right now)

• Co-own the cross-training plan for the newly integrated team
• Get yourself trained on mix and deck, and help bring bakers up across stations
• Especially critical as new people and new products come online

Grow into shared ownership

• Schedule execution, shift coverage, and call-outs — with schedule creation in Homebase moving to you over time
• SOP enforcement on the floor, plus helping write and revise them as you see what works
• Daily quality calls — your read matters
• Improving quality, inventory, and training systems as the department grows

Performance evaluations, hiring, and disciplinary conversations sit with the Production Manager — your input is genuinely valued, but you won't carry those. Major equipment repairs and facility projects belong to our Facilities team.

What We're Looking For

Craft. Expert on rack oven and bench, ready to learn mix and deck. Strong command of artisan bread production and sourdough fermentation. A practical, diagnostic mindset for troubleshooting quality.

Leadership. Clear, direct communication. Comfortable giving feedback in the moment. Composure when something breaks — and the ability to steady the team around you.

Temperament. Integration means responsibilities shift, sometimes with little notice. We need someone who reads that as interesting rather than exhausting.

Physical. Able to lift 50 lbs and work long shifts in a production environment.

Schedule & Compensation

• $25/hour , full-time, overtime eligible
• Flexible across shifts to start, with the expectation of learning all shifts over time
• Currently close to 100% floor time; this shifts as you take on more back-end systems work
• Benefits include health insurance, PTO, 401(k), staff bread,

Compensation Details

Compensation: Hourly ($25.00 - $27.00)

Benefits & Perks: Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Paid Time Off, 401k

Required Skills

Physical Stamina

Team Collaboration

Adaptability

Attention to Detail

Time Management

Problem Solving

Curiosity

Sensory Intelligence