Seafood Processor – New Hire

Job title: Seafood Processor – New Hire

About the Role Northline Seafoods is hiring Seafood Processors for our Fairhaven facility in Bellingham, WA. This is a head-and-gut, filleting, and logistics facility where processors perform a variety of production tasks. This temporary position is expected to run from approximately August 15 through May 15. We are hiring for both day shift and night shift positions.

What You'll Do

• Fish Handling: Receive fish from totes or conveyors. Sort fish by size, species, or quality. Place fish properly on conveyors for processing.
• Heading, Gutting, and Filleting: Operate mechanical heading, gutting, and filet machines. Manually head, gut, or filet fish with knives when machines miss or require correction. Inspect fish to ensure proper cut, gut removal, and quality standards are met.
• Trimming and Cleaning: Remove remaining bloodlines, organs, bones, or defects from fish. Rinse fish thoroughly to ensure cleanliness before freezing or packing.
• Machine Operation: Start, stop, and monitor heading, gutting, and filet machines during production. Clear jams, adjust machine settings for optimal yield, and perform minor troubleshooting as needed.
• Material Handling: Safely operate pallet jacks to move fish totes, ice, packaging materials, and finished goods throughout the facility. Stage production lines with raw materials and transport frozen products to storage or shipping areas.
• Quality Control: Check fish for bruises, damage, or parasites. Report any quality issues to supervisors or leads. Follow all company and regulatory quality standards.
• Packaging Preparation: Place processed fish in pans, trays, or onto freezing racks. Weigh and label fish accurately for shipping or storage.
• Sanitation & Safety: Keep the work area and warehouse floors clean and free of hazards. Handle sharp tools, heavy machinery, and forklifts safely. Follow hygiene and food safety guidelines, including use of gloves, aprons, and hairnets.
• Other duties as assigned.

What We're Looking For

• Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
• Must be at least 18 years old
• Reliable, punctual, and hardworking
• Ability to work long hours and stand for extended periods
• Comfortable working in cold, wet environments for extended periods
• Able to perform repetitive motions, including bending, lifting, squatting, twisting, and knife work
• Previous seafood, machine operation (filet/heading/gutting), or warehouse production experience is a plus
• Must regularly lift and move up to 25 lbs, and occasionally heavier items (up to 50 lbs for material handlers)
• Able to communicate effectively, follow directions, and adhere to safety requirements; some positions may require reading and writing skills

Nice to Have

• Previous seafood, machine operation (filet/heading/gutting), or warehouse production experience is a plus

Compensation & Benefits

• Day Shift: $21.00 per hour
• Night Shift: $22.00 per hour (includes a $1.00/hour shift differential)
• This is a temporary position with approximate dates August 15 through May 15.