Extraction Assistant

About This Role

Extraction Assistant

Pay Rate: $20.00/hour
  Department: Extraction
  Location: Rochester, NY
  Reports To: Extraction Supervisor / Extraction Manager
  Employment Type: Full-Time / Contract (via Vangst)

Job Summary
The Extraction Assistant supports daily operations within the Extraction Department, ensuring efficient, accurate, and compliant production workflows. This role assists with biomass preparation for ethanol and hydrocarbon extraction, maintains a clean and organized lab environment, and supports extraction technicians with routine operational tasks. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, safety-focused, and comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing or laboratory setting.

Responsibilities

Extraction Preparation

• Pack biomass bags for ethanol extraction, ensuring correct weights, labeling, and material handling procedures

• Pack biomass bags for hydrocarbon extraction while strictly following all safety protocols and SOPs

• Stage materials for extraction runs, including moving biomass, transferring solvents, and preparing auxiliary equipment

Equipment & Area Maintenance

• Maintain cleanliness of the extraction area to meet sanitation and safety standards

• Wash and detail-clean glassware, stainless steel components, and extraction tools with strong attention to detail

• Support daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedules according to SOPs

Inventory & Material Handling

• Accurately weigh biomass, solvents, and materials using precision scales

• Track and report usage of biomass, solvents, and consumables to support inventory accuracy

• Assist with material intake, labeling, storage, and tracking in compliance with regulatory requirements

Operational Support

• Assist extraction technicians with load-in/load-out, filter changes, run preparation, material transfers, and auxiliary equipment operation (under supervision)

• Follow all SOPs and documentation requirements related to extraction, cleaning, safety, and batch tracking

Safety & Compliance

• Adhere to all safety protocols involving hazardous materials, PPE, ventilation systems, and C1D1 environments

• Follow METRC, Canix, and other seed-to-sale tracking workflows as required

• Immediately report equipment issues, spills, or safety concerns to leadership

Required Qualifications

• Prior experience in manufacturing, laboratory, or processing environments preferred

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and perform physically demanding tasks

• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow standardized procedures

• Comfortable using scales, basic lab equipment, and cleaning tools

• Willingness to learn extraction processes and equipment operation

• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced production environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in cannabis extraction or lab processing

• Familiarity with solvents, extraction equipment, or hazardous materials

• Experience with inventory systems, METRC, Canix, or other seed-to-sale platforms

Work Environment
This role operates in an extraction facility with exposure to solvents, loud equipment, and temperature fluctuations. Required PPE includes gloves, safety glasses, lab coats or coveralls, respirators (when required), and hearing protection.

About Vangst:

Vangst is the cannabis industry’s hiring platform. Vangst helps cannabis companies find the talent they need to grow their business. From on-demand gig workers to trained & credential full-time employees, Vangst has built the industry’s go-to talent marketplace for all cannabis hiring. Vangst is proud to work with 1,200+ of the cannabis industry’s leading businesses.

Since raising their seed round in 2018, Vangst has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the cannabis industry and was recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.

Today, over 300,000 people have full-time jobs in the cannabis industry and this number is expected to triple over the next five years. Vangst is on a mission to fill every job in the cannabis industry.

Vangst’s headquarters is in Denver, CO. Vangst is a Series B company and backed by Lerer Hippeau, Colle Capital, Level One Fund, Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital, and others.

Vangst provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

#IND1

Licenses & Certifications

• METRC certification preferred

Compensation

• $20.00 – $20.00 / hour