Director of Chocolate Production

Director of Chocolate Production

About Us

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment the beans we buy. We strive to make some of the best chocolate in the world, highlighting the individual nuances of each origin and emphasizing transparent sourcing practices at each supply chain step. Today we’re seeking a Director of Chocolate Production to lead our public-facing flagship 16th Street chocolate factory where we continuously innovate our equipment, techniques, and tasting profiles to bring the bean-to-bar chocolate story to life.

About You
The most successful leaders in this role have carried a humble, positive, servant-leader style. We care the most about two things: 1) commitment to the flavor & quality of chocolate, 2) your ability to create a positive, respectful team culture. When these two are in place (and with a natural inclination to learn), we can put the scaffolding in place to train you on chocolate making, demand planning, and tooling. You’ll uphold a decade-long line of traditions (apprentice chocolate maker training, birthday celebrations, field trips, monthly big bean, continuous chocolate education, spot performance bonuses, simulations, etc) while joining a team that has consistently grown 30-40% year over year.

Prior manufacturing experience is a requirement though we don’t expect it to be in chocolate – other craft foods are great too such as wine, tofu, craft confections, or specialty jams. Some of our initiatives take 12-18 months so to have long-term impact, we’re looking for people who want to be in this role for a long while, growing with us and rolling up their sleeves when necessary to deal with finicky machines while still being at home running spreadsheet formulas and maybe even presenting to the Board of Directors on occasion. Most of all, you are excited to inspire a new standard for American bean-to-bar chocolate.

About the Role

Chocolate making is at the core of everything Dandelion does – allowing our Kitchen teams to make unique hot chocolates and pastries, supplying our Confection team with custom blends for their bonbons, and serving as the foundation for all of our Chocolate Education classes. Among chocolate-making teams, what makes Dandelion unique is that we make chocolate with only two ingredients: cacao and sugar. We travel to origin to build multi-decade relationships with producers and then bring their beans to San Francisco where we sort, roast, winnow, conche, and temper beans into craft chocolate. When the focus is on finding the best cacao available (and when you see how much effort goes into each bean), you want to do everything you can to keep the focus on the beans and their flavor potential. Therefore we don’t add soy lecithin, additional cocoa butter, vanilla, or anything beyond sugar so that everything that makes a bean special (terroir, genetics, production practices, and chocolate making) can shine through.

While that might sound easy (just two ingredients!), it’s actually tricky. Most chocolate bars include additional cocoa butter or soy lecithin to make production easier. Sticking to our minimalist approach means working with the inherent differences between bean origins – our craft comes from knowing how the bean’s moisture levels, inherent cocoa butter percentages, and acidity may potentially impact production. Belize beans have a particularly hard radicle that makes prerefining more challenging, Colombian beans have ample cocoa butter which migrates to the outside of the husk and coats hoppers, slowing down (or jamming) production. Madagascar’s higher moisture content can make the chocolate extra sticky causing our ball mill motors and pumps to work a little bit harder. We’re always, always learning and we take pride in being able to assess, pivot, and coax out the very best in each bean.

A Day in the Life

Team huddles at 8am and 3pm are the heartbeat for our 7-days-a-week production. The team starts early, between 6:30-7:30am, to pre-heat the roaster, prep beans, and oversee deliveries. The daily board shows our production goals and the 8am huddle entails a friendly good morning with each Chocolate Maker reporting on their upcoming station and metrics, highlighting any special concerns and asking for assistance as necessary.

With production underway, your thoughts turn to the future: have we ordered the foil, sugar, and labels for this month’s campaigns? Do we need more training or recordkeeping for our semi-annual AIB audit? In 2-3 years, will we be able to double today’s production and to do so, what equipment will we need to make that possible. Just as you are studying the AIB flow, an unexpected delivery arrives at the loading dock. Then the scale cable is loose and needs an equipment report. Our COO stops by to ask if it’s possible to squeeze some double-winnowed nibs into tomorrow’s production. You check your calendar and see that a new Chocolate Maker Apprentice is at their 60-day mark and needs their training materials so they can prepare the tasting panel. But even with the pivots and changes, you always make time for the longer-term systems-building work that makes it possible for our production to run smoothly and for our chocolate flavor to improve year after year.

The day always passes by quickly. At the 3pm huddle, you listen to the team report their goals and share learnings. You double-check their math, note any equipment issues that need logging, and send out the end-of-day report. Before heading home, you put a meeting on the calendar with the exec team to discuss the first piece of equipment needed to double nib production next year (you suspect this isn’t first time the COO will request nibs) and on your way out the door, you swing by the mechanical room to thank our resident Engineer for his assist fixing the scale cable which made this smooth day possible.

Responsibilities

• Production Operations – Consistently meet production targets for bars, ground chocolate, nibs, whole roasted beans through effective goal setting and implementation. ensure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities (while prioritizing safety above all else!), allow opportunities for team’s voices to be considered, and to jump hurdle upon hurdle to ensure the team delivers upon its deadlines and promises. Anticipate the needs of your team. When speed bumps emerge you roll with it without making unnecessary sacrifices that will prevent us from reaching our long-term goals. You’re known for your positive, active listening, team-oriented, can-do leadership style.
• Safety & Quality – Working with Sourcing and Flavor and Quality teams, implement systems to continue to improve flavor/quality each year. Ensure that team members have proper PPE, safety procedures, and follow protocols each day so that we work towards our zero-injury goals.
• Strategy – Your commitment to quality and sourcing is obvious through the processes you’ve designed to ensure your team is making products you can stand behind. While thinking about the 2-5 year goals, you go beyond just the numbers, equipment, and team structure to also ensure we continue to attract the best Chocolate Makers, make award-winning chocolate, and offer a world-class factory to the public. Attend meetings with exec team each week to discuss labor plans, production output, and capex needs.
• Planning – Working with your team, create and maintain a strategic daily, weekly, monthly production plan that has been vetted across the organization so that everyone is aware of any potential hiccups along the way. Your backup plans help minimize any decrease in production. Maintain inventory of beans, sugar, and production supplies to support production goals.
• Machines and Systems – Actively research new equipment, develop and document operational processes/SLAs so that we are continuing to operate at best-in-class levels. Act as a strategic thought-partner to the exec team, knowing when to advocate for big technical, machine, process, or product jumps forward and when to take a more iterative approach towards best-in-class excellence.
• Leadership and Talent – Coach, mentor, and inspire a well-rounded team through leveling and growth plans so you have a deep bench of leadership to draw upon in future years. Celebrate team wins at all hands and in company monthly reports. Be the team that everyone in the organization wants to join not just because of your cohesive team culture but because your team is known for always delivering upon its goals. Uphold long-held cultural traditions that have carried the chocolate making team for years and define the identity of the team.
• Organization Relations – Develop strong relationships with the execs and managers across the entire organization. You proactively schedule lunches with other teams so that you have a solid relationship to lean on when there are tricky issues to negotiate. Represent 16th street production point of view in meetings with other departments in the company while understanding and balancing strategic company goals
• Hands on production tasks when required
• Other tasks as needed 

Requirements

• Leadership experience – Significant years in a leadership role with timelines and manufacturing production goals with a minimum of five or more team members. Preference for leading more than one team simultaneously so you have the vocabulary to handle complex cross-discipline issues. We prefer leaders who have had individuals who have reported to them for long tenures, such as four or more years.
• Tech savvy & analytics – Your computer skillset includes Excel/spreadsheets, the entire Google Suite, and a willingness to pick up new systems. 
• Excellent communication skills – Your communication style is approachable and clear, making it easy to coordinate with your team as well as other managers across the company.

• Language skills – Fluent spoken and written English. Spanish language skills are encouraged though not required.

Benefits

The benefits and perks continue beyond a robust chocolate education. Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members receive medical, vision, and dental benefits as well as the option to enroll in our 401k program. All employees receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, our team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, chocolate tasting opportunities, the chance to travel to origin and our Japan locations, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.

How to Apply

Dandelion is growing and we are invested in employees who take ownership over their role and are interested in contributing in a bigger way with us. You will stand out from the crowd if your resume is accompanied by a cover letter with a few sentences describing how you helped contribute to your previous company’s culture.