Commercial Kitchen Lead

Part-Time Baker – Poppy’s

Location: Durham, NC (Commercial Kitchen Outside of Durham)
Hours: Part-Time, Flexible Schedule (Some Early Mornings/Weekends)
Compensation: Competitive, Based on Experience

About Poppy’s

Poppy’s is a growing food brand dedicated to bringing people together through modern, high-quality challah. We’re not just baking bread—we’re building a brand rooted in community, tradition, and innovation.

We’re looking for a skilled, adaptable, and entrepreneurial-minded baker to help launch and scale our first commercial baking operations. This is a pivotal role in shaping Poppy’s production from the ground up—perfect for someone who thrives in a startup environment and wants real ownership over their work.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead baking operations—you’ll be the first dedicated baker helping to bring our signature challah to life at scale.
• Bake high-quality challah in large batches using established recipes while ensuring consistency in texture, taste, and appearance.
• Iterate & perfect our recipe—work closely with our founder to refine and optimize the recipe for large-scale commercial production.
• Scale production processes—help transition from small-scale baking to a streamlined, high-efficiency commercial kitchen setup.
• Work in a commercial kitchen outside of Durham, maintaining strict food safety and cleanliness standards.
• Manage ingredients & inventory—tracking supplies, assisting with ordering, and ensuring smooth production flow.
• Problem-solve & adapt—this is a startup, so we need someone who can think on their feet, adjust to challenges, and improve processes as we grow.

Who You Are:

• An experienced baker with hands-on time in a commercial or professional kitchen.
• A bread expert—bonus points if you have experience making challah or other enriched doughs.
• Detail-oriented & consistent—quality matters, and we want every loaf to be just right.
• Innovative & process-driven—you’re excited to experiment, refine, and scale recipes for commercial production.
• Flexible & nimble—startups require adaptability, and you’ll have real responsibility in shaping Poppy’s future.
• Mission-driven & community-oriented—you believe in the power of food to bring people together.

Nice-to-Haves (But Not Required):

• Experience in high-volume baking or production environments.
• Familiarity with Jewish culture and traditions around challah.
• Prior experience working in a food startup or high-growth environment.

Why Join Poppy’s?

• Real ownership—this isn’t just a baking job; you’ll be laying the foundation for Poppy’s future operations.
• Creative input—help shape and perfect our core recipe as we scale.
• Mission-driven work—be part of a brand that’s building something meaningful.
• Flexible, collaborative environment—work closely with our founder and grow with us.

If you’re an experienced baker looking to be part of an exciting, fast-growing brand, we’d love to hear from you!

Apply now and let’s bake something amazing together.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $11.00 - $15.00 per hour

Expected hours: 1 – 10 per week

Shift:

• 4 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Evening shift
• Morning shift

Ability to Relocate:

• Durham, NC 27705: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $11 - $15