Jobs at UC Santa Cruz Dining

Join our team!

  • Competitive pay! Great benefits!
  • 14 paid holidays, plus vacation and sick leave
  • Medical, dental & vision care insurance plans
  • UC retirement plans
  • Free meals
  • Life insurance, legal insurance, and pet insurance

Career Staff Positions

We are hiring for all positions listed below. Once a position is filled, it will be removed from this list. Apply today by selecting a blue position title below!


Dining Principal Food Service Worker

Starting Pay: $21.65 / Hourly

 Duties:

  • Works independently in the daily oversight of Dining Hall Restaurant, Retail location, and/or Catering operations.
  • Serves as “Lead” for a team and performs a variety of duties related to semi-skilled food preparation and delivery and overseeing safety and sanitation of the location.
  • The Principal Food Service Worker is expected to have substantial knowledge of the complex operation of the dining or kitchen area and to have previous experience or training in their particular area of work.

Dining Senior Food Service Worker

Starting Pay: $21.22 / Hourly

 Duties:

  • Performs a variety of semi-skilled and skilled food preparations, serving, maintenance, and safety and sanitation functions in the kitchen or dining area.

Dining Senior Cook

Starting Pay: $24.73 / Hourly

 Duties:

  • Prepares food that is complex and of the highest quality which is appropriate to the skill level of a Senior Cook.
  • Prepares assigned recipes for residence hall meals and other events, providing the highest quality of service to the customers.
  • Fill a leadership role in the kitchen by organizing and directing all assigned production staff for meal service.
  • Follow all policies, rules, and regulations of the University. Ensures health and safety guidelines are practiced.
  • Leadership kitchen position with the appropriate level of experience and competency in food preparation, productions, and kitchen management.

Dining Cook

Starting Pay: $22.67 / Hourly

 Duties:

  • Prepares food appropriate to the level of skills of a Cook.
  • Prepares assigned recipes for residence hall meals and other events, providing the highest quality of service to the customers.
  • May assume a leadership role in the kitchen by organizing and directing production staff for meal service.
  • Follow policies, rules and regulations of the University.
  • Ensures health and safety guidelines are practiced. Performing under supervision, this is a journeyman position with experience and competency in food preparation.

Dining Senior Storekeeper

Starting Pay: $24.81 / Hourly

 Duties:

  • Orders, receives, and inspects food service products.
  • Communicate, report, and resolve order damages and discrepancies according to UCSC Dining policies and procedures.  
  • Provide inventory accountability, establish and maintain operational controls and security, and is responsible for reconciling shipments against purchase orders.
  • Responsible for the storage and managing of all food service products and maintenance of storage areas.  
  • Train and provide direction to student workers and senior food service workers, regarding proper storekeeping procedures and practices. 

Dining Sous Chef

Starting Pay: $59,000 / Annually 

Duties:

  • Performs advanced culinary duties, including preparation and quality assurance for food that is complex and of the highest quality. 
  • Prepares assigned recipes for residence hall, retail and catering meals, and other events.
  • Coordinates portion control and continually reviews and updates menus and recipes. 
  • Has a supervisory role in the kitchen and is responsible for organizing and directing career and student staff producing and serving over 5,000 meals per day.

Dining Unit Manager

Starting Pay: $80,000 / Annually

Full Benefits: medical, vision, dental, holiday pay, vacation, sick time, retirement plan, free meal

Duties:

  • Manages a multi-faceted dining service operation for the University Dining Services Department.  
  • Directly supervises a team of professional managers, career staff, and numerous limited and student staff.  
  • Directs the activity of multiple program areas that are administered in the Dining unit throughout the year, including the fiscal management of a large operating expense budget, staffing, and accounting for each program as appropriate. 

Dining Retail Food Service Manager

Starting Pay: $60,000 / Annually

Full Benefits: medical, vision, dental, holiday pay, vacation, sick time, retirement plan, free meal

Duties:

  • Responsible for the organizational and functional performance of a Dining retail location. 
  • Administers a system of quality food production and service for student staff and faculty customers, visitors, and Summer conference guests.
  • Utilizes the principles of food production, merchandising, customer service, operations, and human resource management.

Dining Senior Food Service Manager

Starting Pay: $65,000 / Annually

Full Benefits: medical, vision, dental, holiday pay, vacation, sick time, retirement plan, free meal

Duties:

  • Responsible for the operational management of the assigned residential dining facilities, Catering operations or retail locations, and will act as the Person in Charge (PIC) in the absence of the Unit Manager.
  • Administers a system of quality food production and service for student staff and faculty customers, visitors, and Summer conference guests.
  • Utilizes the principles of food production, merchandising, customer service, operations, and human resource management.

Dining Executive Chef

Starting Pay: $95,000-$100,000 / Annually

Full Benefits: medical, vision, dental, holiday pay, vacation, sick time, retirement plan, free meal

Duties:

  • Responsible for collaborating closely with the department’s unit managers and production managers along with the Dining Services culinary team in each operational area. 
  • Responsible for providing leadership, creativity, menu development, reviewing/recommending purchasing for existing and new products, planning, coordination, and presentation. 
  • Responsible for the training of production personnel in food preparation, equipment usages, proper food handling, recipe tasting, and in food management systems compliance. 
  • Responsible for providing high quality food and excellent customer service to the university community.
  • Responsible for providing leadership in developing and implementing creative menu solutions to maintain affordability of these vital services and improve their financial viability.

About Our Organization

UC Santa Cruz Dining is a self-operated department under the Colleges, Housing and Educational Services (CHES) organization. This multi-funded organization of the Division of Student Affairs and Success at UC Santa Cruz provides leadership in the areas of college student life and residential services, housing services and facilities, employee housing, capital planning, business and financial analysis, dining services, conference services, early education services, the Bay Tree Campus Store, and ID card services. Through these units, educational and developmental programs and services are offered to all members of the campus community including students, faculty, staff, children, and external constituents.

Dining employs over 200 professional staff with a wide variety of skill sets. To learn more about open positions and to apply for a dining staff position, visit jobs.ucsc.edu.