Seafood Processor - Sitka Sound Seafoods - 2024 (PRCSSR - SSS)

Seafood processors perform a variety of manual labor tasks.  Once the fishing fleet delivers seafood to our docks, our processing employees move the product through our production line until it is shipped in bulk to customers and cold storage facilities worldwide. 

Adventure ahead!  Salmon season is an incredible time to experience the beautiful landscape of remote, coastal Alaska, home to some of the world’s largest and most sustainable wild salmon fisheries.  This is a chance to work hard, save on expenses, meet a variety of people from around the world, and produce healthy protein for worldwide consumption.  The work lasts from approximately mid-June to late September.  The season may be shorter or longer depending on the fishery.  Employees may elect to continue working for Sitka Sound for the fall fisheries.

Job duties may include, but are not limited to, offloading product from vessels; sorting, butchering, cleaning, weighing, cutting, filleting, trimming, inspecting, and boxing various seafood products; operating plant machinery, a forklift or pallet jack; inspecting product; loading product, boxes, pallets, or carts of product into or out of freezers or refrigerated vans; preparing packaging materials; guiding product into automated machinery: and cleaning or sanitizing the work area.

To preserve our food products at the peak of freshness, our plants operate 24-hours a day.  Employees are assigned to 16-hour shifts, seven days a week.  You may be assigned to day or night shifts.  There may be several days or weeks of full production, and there may be several days with little or no production.  Wild fisheries are not always easy to predict.

In Alaska, employees are paid overtime after eight regular hours in a day, and after 40 regular hours in a week.  With minimal onsite expenses, and hopefully a large fish run, this is often a great way to make money in a relatively short period of time.  NPSI recognizes several holidays during the year.  Hourly employees are paid at their overtime rate for all hours worked on the holiday.  In the summer, July 4^th is a recognized holiday.

NPSI offers a generous employer matching 401(k) retirement plan and you are eligible to participate on day one!  We also offer affordable, traditional health insurance benefits that include medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage.

Qualified applicants must be:

• 17+ years old (locals who do not live in the bunkhouse) or 18+ (to live in the bunkhouse).

• Authorized to work in the U.S.

• Willing and able to do this work, with or without reasonable accommodation:
  • Perform physical, standing work for up to 16 hours per day, seven days per week.
  • Process, touch, and be in close proximity of seafood products.
  • Work in cold, wet, loud plants with strong seafood odors.
  • Work safely around moving machinery, forklifts, vehicles, and elevated walkways.
  • Use hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders repetitively.
  • Safely lift up to 50 pounds.
  • Possess visual acuity and tactile dexterity to perform processing tasks.
  • Demonstrate prompt and reliable attendance.
  • Follow verbal and/or written directions.
  • Physically evacuate the area in a swift manner in case of an emergency.
• Willing to live and work with a culturally diverse workforce, sharing bunkhouse rooms and communal restrooms.
• Willing to follow all NPSI policies including our Discrimination-Free and Harassment-Free Workplace policy.

Transportation, Room and Board

Non-local employees live in our bunkhouse which is located a short 10-minute walk from the plant.  The rooms are assigned based on gender identity, with up to four employees to a room with bunk beds and a shared bathroom. Bed linens are provided and laundry service is available on site.  Sitka Sound charges employees $15.00 per day for room and board.  If you stay until the end of salmon season (approximately September 22^nd but subject to change based on production needs and forecasts), we will reimburse your bunkhouse charges to you.

Sitka Sound provides three meals per day for employees who live in our company bunkhouse during in the summer salmon season.  Meals outside of the summer salmon season are the responsibility of each employee.

NPSI provides transportation from certain points of travel (generally, Seattle, WA and Anchorage, AK) to the worksite and back, as well as room and board, for those employees who work until they are laid off.  Employees who leave before the season ends may be responsible for their own transportation, and they will be charged $15 per day for room and board.

No Tolerances
North Pacific Seafoods prohibits the use, sale, or possession of ANY drug not medically authorized.  We do not allow the use or possession of marijuana, medical or otherwise, at our plants.  Employees may be asked to submit to random, post-accident, or for cause testing at any time, and NPSI reserves the right to search all areas of the plant without advance notice in order to maintain the no tolerance policy.

Important Considerations

This work can be hard, monotonous, and boring.  There is no way to predict how much work will be available since this is a wild fishery.

Payroll Information

Our processor wage plan provides pay increases based on the total number of hours you work for our company.  The first increase (Tier II) is after 1,200 hours.  This means if you work longer seasons, or choose to come back multiple years, your hours accumulate towards these pay increases.  Pay periods are biweekly.  Our workday is defined as the calendar day, and our work week runs from Monday through Sunday.  Employees are paid on the Friday following the end of the biweekly pay period.  We encourage employees to sign up for direct deposit but you may elect to receive paper checks instead. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is NPSI’s policy to comply with federal, state, and local law prohibiting unlawful discrimination.   NPSI does not and will not permit discrimination (including harassment) in recruitment, hiring, or other employment actions and decisions based on an employee or applicant being a member of a protected class, which includes, but is not limited to, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history), or other statuses protected by state and local law. It is NPSI’s policy to provide legal and fair treatment to all employees regarding recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, wages, hours, benefits, working conditions, training, and availability of advancement opportunities.

At-Will Employment

NPSI is an “at-will” employer, meaning that the employee or NPSI may terminate employment at any time, with or without notice, and with or without cause.  No one at NPSI is authorized to guarantee employment for a certain time period or otherwise alter the at-will nature of employment with NPSI. The language that appears in this job posting is not intended to create and does not create, nor is it intended to constitute and does not constitute a contract between NPSI and any employee. No manager, employee, or representative of NPSI, except the President or CEO, has the authority to enter into any contract guaranteeing employment for any specific term, and no such contract shall be deemed binding unless it is in writing and signed by the President or CEO.

Accommodation Requests

NPSI provides reasonable accommodations to applicants during the application process to ensure equal access to all available positions.  To request an accommodation, please call NPSI’s Vice President of Human Resources at (206) 726-9900.