Production Assistant - Weekdays

Looking for a craft—where you make something real, with your hands and your head, and it actually matters to people you’ll never meet? That’s what working at Cornell & Diehl feels like. Every batch you help produce gets opened, sniffed, rubbed out, and talked about by hobbyists who know the difference between “fine” and “this is special.” If you want your day’s work to live in someone’s pipe, cellar, and memory—not just on a spreadsheet—read on.

Cornell & Diehl is a small, obsessively focused producer of boutique pipe tobaccos. The company manufactures and blends tobaccos in Loris, South Carolina, carrying on and evolving a craft that has roots in small American blending houses and classic English traditions. The team works with real leaf, traditional methods, and carefully tuned machinery to create mixtures that collectors seek out, cellar, and argue about with the intensity other people reserve for wine or coffee. We are part of the Laudisi family of companies, but Cornell & Diehl has the feel of a workshop: small teams, visible impact, and a direct line between what you do on the floor and what a smoker experiences in his pipe.

About the role

You are a working craftsperson in training. You’re the extra pair of hands that lets experienced blenders and operators focus on the most critical parts of the process, while you master everything that supports them.

Responsibilities

• Stay active and on your feet all day in a cool, climate-controlled production space designed around the tobacco and the people working it.
• Handle tobacco in every state—whole leaf, pressed cakes, ribbons, flakes—learning how it feels, smells, and behaves at each step.
• Move and stage heavy containers of leaf and finished product so the line never starves for material.
• Support operators at presses, slicers, and cutters, feeding and clearing product safely so machine time is used for making tobacco, not waiting.
• Track batches and steps in our software so what’s on the floor and what’s on the screen match, preserving the “recipe” and repeatability of each blend.
• Watch the room: notice when a coworker is falling behind, when a station is starved or backed up, and step in to keep the whole process flowing smoothly.

You’ll Thrive Here If

Over time, if you’re curious and attentive, you don’t just “help out”—you start to understand why different leaves are cut, cased, pressed, and aged the way they are, and how small process choices show up in the tin years later. This is one of the few places left where you can learn a physical craft that people care deeply about, without needing a decade of prior experience. You’ll see your work go out into the world in tins and jars, show up in collections and cellars, and get discussed by name.

Requirements

• You like working with your hands and your body—this is active, physical work—and you can stay focused on the craft.
• You take pride in doing the same task well, over and over, while still looking for smarter ways to do it.
• You have a real interest in pipes, cigars, or other “nerdy” hobbies where flavor, aging, and small details matter.
• Reliability: on time, present, able to work a Monday–Thursday schedule and be someone others can count on.
• Basic comfort with computers for simple data entry and production tracking.
• Ability to lift and move 30+ pounds safely, follow safety rules, and keep your workspace clean and orderly.
• A steady attitude: teachable, respectful, and willing to learn from more experienced craftspeople.

Benefits

• Competitive hourly pay and full benefits, including health, dental, vision, PTO, holidays, and a strong 401(k) match.
• A casual environment—jeans, t-shirts, and practical work clothes—paired with serious standards for cleanliness, safety, and quality.
• A team that will actually teach you: why a blend is pressed for this long and not that long, why this leaf gets cased differently, why this batch smells “right” and that one doesn’t.
• Clear room to grow from operating a machine to someone who owns a station, a process, and eventually a broader piece of the operation, if you show judgment and initiative.

Pay

$17.75 hourly

Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 6:00 AM to 4:30 PM

Additional Information

Honest expectations: you will be around tobacco and sometimes in smoking areas; you’ll work hard; and you’ll share in the satisfaction when a release lands well with the people who follow what we do. If you just want something easy, this isn’t it. If you want to learn a craft, be part of a small team that takes pride in what it makes, and go home smelling like tobacco and accomplishment, we’d like to hear from you.

Applicants being considered must pass a criminal background check.

Please consider whether you are comfortable working around smoke and tobacco before applying for this position.