Head Cidermaker - Production Lead - Award winning cidery

Head Cidermaker — Lost Boy Cider
Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Job Type: Full-Time, In Person

Compensation: Approximately $70,000 annually, depending on experience and overall fit
Benefits: Health insurance, paid time off, employee discounts, professional development opportunities, and potential future compensation growth based on company performance and expanded responsibilities

Reports To: Founder / Ownership

About Lost Boy Cider

Lost Boy Cider is an award-winning urban cidery located in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. Since opening in 2019, Lost Boy has built a reputation for modern, dry, ingredient-driven ciders made from high-quality Virginia and Shenandoah Valley apples.

We believe in quality, transparency, creativity, cleanliness, and doing things the right way. Our ciders are made without shortcuts, with a focus on honest ingredients, strong technical execution, and products that can stand with the best ciders in the country.

Lost Boy has won the Virginia Governor’s Cup for cider and has earned regional and national recognition for its products. We operate a combined tasting room and production facility in Alexandria and produce cider for our taproom, wholesale distribution, events, and packaged retail sales.

We are now hiring a Head Cidermaker to lead the production side of the business.

This is the most important production role in the company. We are looking for someone who can own the cider from juice to finished product, lead the cellar team, protect quality, improve systems, and help shape the future of Lost Boy Cider.

Position Summary

The Head Cidermaker will oversee all aspects of cider production, including fermentation management, blending, product development, sanitation, packaging, inventory, quality control, production planning, compliance support, and cellar leadership.

This person must be both technical and practical. The right candidate understands fermentation science, but also knows that great cider depends on discipline, cleanliness, organization, consistency, and good judgment on the production floor.

This is a hands-on leadership role. You will not simply manage from a desk. You will be expected to work in the cellar, manage tanks, monitor fermentations, troubleshoot problems, lead packaging days, maintain equipment, support compliance, and keep the production area clean, safe, and organized.

We are looking for someone who loves the art and science of cider, takes pride in details, and can help Lost Boy continue making excellent cider while improving efficiency and consistency.

Key Responsibilities

Cider Production & Fermentation
Lead all cider production from juice receiving through finished product.
Manage fermentation plans, yeast selection, nutrient additions, temperature control, racking, aging, stabilization, filtration, carbonation, and packaging readiness.
Track fermentations daily and maintain accurate production records.
Monitor pH, TA, Brix, SO2, ABV, sensory development, and other relevant production markers.
Identify and correct fermentation issues before they become product problems.
Maintain consistency across core products while supporting innovation and seasonal releases.
Manage wild, traditional, modern, and experimental fermentation projects when appropriate.
Oversee blending, bench trials, fining, stabilization, and sensory evaluation.
Ensure all finished cider meets Lost Boy’s quality standards before release.
Product Development
Lead new product trials and recipe development in partnership with ownership.
Improve existing products while protecting brand identity and customer expectations.
Develop seasonal, limited, cellar series, and specialty ciders.
Evaluate raw materials, apple varieties, adjuncts, yeast strains, flavor profiles, and packaging formats.
Balance creativity with commercial reality, production efficiency, and quality control.
Participate in sensory panels and help build a stronger internal tasting and evaluation process.
Quality Control & Food Safety
Own quality control throughout the cider-making process.
Maintain high standards for sanitation, cellar hygiene, and finished product integrity.
Develop, follow, and improve SOPs for cleaning, sanitation, transfers, filtration, carbonation, packaging, and equipment use.
Ensure proper use, storage, and documentation of cleaning chemicals and safety data sheets.
Support compliance with applicable OSHA, FDA, TTB, Virginia ABC, and general food/beverage safety requirements.
Maintain organized and accurate records for production, inventory, cleaning, batch tracking, and compliance.
Build systems that reduce mistakes, improve consistency, and make the cellar easier to manage.
Cellar, Packaging & Equipment
Oversee daily cellar operations, including tank cleaning, transfers, kegging, canning, bottling, filtration, carbonation, and packaging preparation.
Operate and maintain pumps, hoses, tanks, valves, filters, canning line, keg washer, forklift, pallet jack, and other cellar equipment.
Lead and support packaging runs, including canning, kegging, bottling, labeling, case packing, and palletizing.
Keep the production facility clean, organized, safe, and inspection-ready at all times.
Troubleshoot minor mechanical issues and coordinate larger repairs when needed.
Maintain barrels, tanks, brite tanks, serving tanks, kegs, and production equipment.
Manage raw materials, packaging materials, chemicals, finished goods, kegs, and warehouse organization.
Help improve material utilization, production flow, and packaging efficiency.
Leadership & Team Management
Lead, train, and support cellar and production staff.
Set clear expectations for cleanliness, safety, quality, timeliness, and accountability.
Create a calm, professional, high-standard production culture.
Delegate work effectively while staying hands-on when needed.
Communicate clearly with ownership, tasting room leadership, sales, events, and distribution partners.
Help create production schedules that align with taproom needs, wholesale demand, seasonal releases, and packaging deadlines.
Be willing to support occasional customer-facing events, tastings, distributor visits, sales opportunities, and educational moments.
Inventory, Planning & Supply Chain
Manage juice, cider, raw materials, packaging materials, kegs, chemicals, and production supplies.
Forecast production needs and communicate purchasing requirements in advance.
Coordinate with apple/juice suppliers, packaging vendors, chemical suppliers, and service providers.
Track tank capacity, production timelines, packaging needs, and finished goods availability.
Help prevent stockouts, overproduction, waste, and unnecessary rush orders.

Required Qualifications

Minimum 3–5 years of hands-on experience in cider, wine, beer, or related beverage production.
Strong understanding of fermentation management, sanitation, cellar operations, and packaging.
Experience managing fermentations from raw juice, must, wort, or similar raw material through finished product.
Strong sensory skills and ability to evaluate cider for balance, flaws, aroma, flavor, acidity, structure, and finish.
Ability to maintain detailed production records and follow SOPs.
Working knowledge of cellar equipment, pumps, hoses, tanks, filtration, carbonation, kegging, and packaging.
Mechanical aptitude and ability to troubleshoot production issues.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple production priorities.
Ability to lead people respectfully and hold high standards.
Comfort working in a wet, cold, hot, loud, and physically demanding production environment.
Must be able to lift 55–75 lbs. and perform strenuous work throughout the day.
Must be able to stand, bend, climb, kneel, reach, carry, push, pull, and work around moving equipment.
Must be 21 years of age or older.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
Must be able to reliably commute to Alexandria, VA, or relocate before starting.

Preferred Qualifications

Formal training or coursework in cider making, winemaking, brewing, fermentation science, food science, chemistry, microbiology, or a related field.
Experience in a Head Cidermaker, Winemaker, Brewer, Cellar Master, Production Manager, or similar leadership role.
Familiarity with Virginia cider, wine, or beverage alcohol production.
Experience with TTB, FDA, OSHA, Virginia ABC, HACCP, or food safety compliance.
Experience managing production staff.
Experience with canning lines, keg washers, filtration systems, brite tanks, and pressurized vessels.
Forklift certification or prior forklift experience.
Experience with Google Workspace, spreadsheets, inventory systems, production software, and digital record keeping.
Experience developing new products, bench trials, blending trials, and sensory programs.
A genuine passion for cider, apples, fermentation, and building something meaningful.

Who You Are

You are serious about quality. You notice details other people miss. You understand that cider making is part science, part craft, part logistics, and part discipline.

You are not afraid of physical work. You are comfortable getting wet, cleaning tanks, moving kegs, fixing small problems, and doing what needs to be done.

You are calm under pressure. You do not panic when something goes sideways. You troubleshoot, communicate, and solve the problem.

You care about cleanliness. Not “pretty clean.” Actually clean.

You are organized enough to keep records, manage inventory, follow production schedules, and protect product quality.

You are creative, but not reckless. You enjoy product development, but you respect process, consistency, and commercial reality.

You can lead a team without ego. You can teach, listen, take feedback, and hold standards.

Most importantly, you want to help build one of the best cider programs in the country.

Work Environment

This is a full-time, in-person production role at our cidery in Alexandria, Virginia. The production environment includes wet floors, chemicals, hoses, pumps, tanks, forklifts, pressurized vessels, moving mechanical parts, loud equipment, temperature changes, and physically demanding work.

The typical schedule is primarily weekday production hours, but occasional evenings, weekends, events, packaging days, harvest periods, emergency production needs, or special projects may be required.

Compensation & Benefits

Lost Boy Cider offers a competitive compensation package for a hands-on production leader, with salary expected around $70,000 annually, depending on experience and overall fit.

Benefits may include:

Health insurance
Paid time off
Employee discounts
Professional development opportunities
Cider education opportunities
Potential retirement benefits
Opportunity for future compensation growth based on company performance, production leadership, and expanded responsibilities
Opportunity to help lead and shape an award-winning cider company
This role is best suited for someone who wants meaningful ownership, creative input, and leadership responsibility inside an independent, award-winning cider program.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send a resume here.

Head Cidermaker Application

In your cover letter, tell us:

Why you are interested in Lost Boy Cider
Your relevant cider, wine, beer, or beverage production experience
Your experience leading production, cellar, quality, or packaging operations
A cider, wine, beer, or fermentation project you are proud of
Why you believe you are the right person to lead this production program

Equal Opportunity Statement
Lost Boy Cider strongly supports equal employment opportunity for all applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.