Job Name
Cheese Maker
Cheese Maker - Stanhope
General Information
Date Published
03-Nov-2025
Advertising Ends
28-Nov-2025
ID#
13962
Work Type
Permanent Full-Time
Workplace Type
On-site
Country
Australia
Location
Northern Victoria
Position Description
We are Fonterra, one of the world's largest dairy nutrition companies. Here in Australia, we collect milk from Aussie Farmers across Victoria and Tasmania, and our manufacturing sites turn this into the dairy foods you know and love in our supermarkets, including Perfect Italiano™, Mainland™, Western Star™, and Bega™. We also sell dairy ingredients to many of the world's leading food companies and partner with food services businesses across the country to get dairy foods into chefs' hands.
As a Co-operative created and owned by New Zealand dairy farmers, our collaboration, innovation, and passion have enabled us to share the goodness of our dairy with the world. We're committed to caring for the land, our animals, and every drop of milk, producing nutritious food with safe, quality ingredients loved here in Australia and around the world.
As part of the Fonterra Co-op, you'll be solving for a better future alongside a team connected by solid values as we strive to be a leader in dairy sustainability, dairy innovation and science, with a focus on New Zealand milk.
When you join Fonterra, you'll open yourself to a career of opportunities where you can grow with us by developing your skills, sharing your knowledge, and exploring diverse career paths that ignite your passions.
About us
In the heart of northern Victoria is our Stanhope site, a state-of-the-art cheese plant. Here, we make a range of award-winning cheeses for both the domestic and export markets.
About the role
As a Cheese Maker, you’ll be responsible for crafting high-quality cheeses from start to finish, beginning with the careful selection and preparation of fresh milk, ensuring it meets the highest standards of purity and flavour.
From there, you will manage the delicate transformation of milk into curd, monitoring temperature, timing, and texture with precision to achieve consistent results. Your role will align with the key responsibilities to ensure that quality products are made every day, where patience and your expertise are essential to developing complex flavours and perfect textures every time.
This position is ideal for someone with a meticulous eye for detail, a steady hand for artisanal techniques, and a genuine passion for dairy craftsmanship, as well as:
- Operate and maintain cheese-making equipment, ensuring it is cleaned, calibrated, and functioning efficiently to support consistent production.
- Prepare and handle milk and starter cultures with precision, monitoring quality, temperature, and composition to achieve desired outcomes.
- Carry out critical cheesemaking processes such as cutting, stirring, and draining curd in vats, carefully adjusting timing and technique to influence texture and flavour.
- Maintain strict hygiene, sanitation, and food safety standards across all stages of production, adhering to regulatory requirements and internal protocols.
- Accurately record production data, batch details, and quality checks, collaborating closely with the Quality Assurance team to ensure compliance and traceability.
- Support continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to refine processes, reduce waste, and enhance efficiency
About You
Previous hands-on experience in dairy or cheese production, with a solid understanding of traditional and modern cheesemaking methods.
- Strong knowledge of food safety regulations, HACCP principles, and best practices in hygiene and sanitation.
- Physically fit and comfortable with manual, hands-on tasks such as lifting, stirring, and cleaning equipment
- Highly detail-oriented, with the ability to monitor multiple variables simultaneously and make precise adjustments during production.
- A passion for artisanal food production, curiosity to learn, and a commitment to maintaining the highest standards of craftsmanship.
- Strong communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across production, quality, and management teams.
- Formal training in dairy technology, food science, or a related field is highly regarded and will support career growth within the role.
- Understanding of drying processes, including knowledge of moisture control, airflow, and temperature regulation, with the ability to recognise how these factors influence texture, shelf life, and overall product quality (advantageous)
Are you excited about this opportunity but may only meet some requirements?
At Fonterra, we are committed to building a diverse workplace and, therefore, open to looking at applicants with excellent transferable skills. If that's you, we encourage you to apply as you may be the right candidate for this role or one of our other opportunities.
The benefits of life at Fonterra
Our people and what they bring to our Co-op shape our success. We have a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders, and passionate people, making Fonterra a great place to work. We also offer competitive remuneration and a range of benefits, regardless of your role or location.
Fonterra is a place where everyone can be themselves, feel empowered to do their best, and are empowered to create goodness for generations.
Sound good to you? Come and join us, and let's solve for better, together. You, me, us together.