Will AI replace food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders?

Some tasks are already being done by AI or machines; the rest still needs a person. About 4h 25m of a typical shift is made up of tasks that AI or robots have done on their own in real use somewhere. That doesn't mean those hours are automated in a typical workplace. The other 3h 35m (45%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 0.4% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 7 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 4h 25m of a typical shift. 8 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here.

• Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products. (1h 20m a shift; e.g. PROBAT NEPTUNE roasters with ProCS M, REFLEX/COLOUR CONTROL and PILOT PLANT control, in use)
• Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages. (1h 8m a shift; e.g. Q-Bake / EyePro vision inspection with Real-Time Oven Feedback, in use)
• Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand. (49m a shift; e.g. Chef Robotics (Chef / Chef+ AI food assembly robot), in use)
• Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps. (31m a shift; e.g. Honeywell 7800 Series burner control units (RM/EC7800 flame safeguard), in use)

3h 35m of a typical shift, or 45%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards. (49m a shift)
• Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail. (31m a shift)
• Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses. (31m a shift)
• Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing. (25m a shift)
• Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors. (18m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 96% spend more than half the day on their feet
• 75% work in very hot or cold conditions at least weekly
• 61% say a mistake would be very or extremely serious

On Indeed, job postings in the Production & Manufacturing sector are at 124% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 12.6% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 2,500 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $44,810 a year ($21.54 an hour), 12% below the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $33,250 and $62,680 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 0.4% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 22,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 2,500 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 20,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 546th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 22,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 61% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 2 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: high school diploma, some training. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Operation and Control, Monitoring
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 3h 35m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Excel

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders (2h 36m touched, $44k median pay)
• Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers (48m touched, $46k median pay)
• Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (1h 51m touched, $49k median pay)
• Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (3h touched, $40k median pay)
• Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (1h 18m touched, $48k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 7 with robots in real deployments, 12 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.