Cake Decorator

Role overview

As a Bakery Decorator, you will shape, fill, ice, and finish cakes, tarts, pastries, and custom bakery items. The role calls for a strong creative eye to produce polished specialty desserts that look appealing, taste great, and consistently meet quality expectations. You will also help deliver the service standards and operational practices that support the store’s goals, core values, and food safety requirements.

Key responsibilities

• Assemble, fill, finish, and decorate cakes, tarts, select pastries, and special-order bakery products.
• Prepare cakes and other baked goods using standard production methods to match business demand.
• Track production and spoilage accurately, and update production sheets when needed to keep supply levels balanced.
• Organize production priorities and suggest changes when demand shifts.
• Display products in the sales case in an attractive way while checking freshness and ensuring proper rotation.
• Support Bakery Decorator Apprentices and other team members with guidance and assistance.
• Develop custom cake designs based on customer preferences.
• Deliver prompt, courteous customer service, including handling questions, using suggestive selling, and responding quickly to calls and pages.
• Keep the workspace and shopping area clean and sanitary, and maintain equipment according to safety and cleanliness standards.
• Handle opening, mid-shift, and closing tasks as assigned, including signage and pricing accuracy.
• Carry out additional duties as needed.

Skills and qualifications

• Good cake and pastry decorating ability, including intermediate piping and decorative flowers and borders.
• Understanding of color mixing and how to coordinate buttercream shades and complementary palettes.
• Ability to work with a variety of icings and frostings, including Swiss buttercream, American buttercream, ganache, cream cheese icing, whipped cream, Chantilly, German chocolate icing, fudge icing, and different meringues.
• Capacity to follow recipes, directions, and procedures with strong organization and time management.
• Safe handling of knives, tools, and equipment.
• Basic arithmetic for recipe conversions and adjustments.
• Clear communication skills and a cooperative team mindset.
• Ability to communicate respectfully and clearly with teammates, customers, and vendors.
• Strong customer service focus.
• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment with urgency.

Experience

You should have 6–12 months of retail or restaurant experience. Completion of a Bakery Decorator Apprentice training program, or equivalent practical experience, is expected. Experience in a professional bakery or grocery retail setting is preferred.

Working conditions

• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds.
• In an 8-hour shift, standing and walking may be required for 6 to 8 hours.
• Frequent hand use, including single grasping, fine manipulation, pushing, and pulling.
• Regular bending, twisting, squatting, and reaching are part of the job.
• Exposure to FDA-approved cleaning chemicals.
• Exposure to cold and hot temperatures, including below 32°F, 32–40°F, and above 90°F.
• Work may involve wet and dry conditions.
• Flexible scheduling is required, including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Use of tools and equipment such as knives, box cutters, electric pallet jacks, and other heavy machinery may be necessary.
• May require ladder use.

Compensation and benefits

The pay range for this role is $21.00 to $30.00 per hour, depending on experience. Full-time and part-time team members may be eligible for Whole Benefits, which can include store discounts, paid time off, financial wellness support, health and wellness programs, and additional team member perks. Benefit eligibility depends on the applicable plan terms, date of hire, work location, length of service, and job type.

Equal opportunity and accommodation

The employer is committed to equal employment opportunity and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds protected by law, including race, color, national origin, gender, pregnancy, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and veteran status. If you need help or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, you should contact the local Human Resources office at the worksite.

Additional notes

This summary is not a complete list of every possible duty or requirement. Responsibilities may vary by role level, department, location, and business needs. Advancement is based on demonstrated performance, business necessity, and being the best-qualified candidate for the higher-level role; education, certification, time in role, or milestone completion do not guarantee promotion.