Cargill — one of the world’s largest agricultural commodities companies — is hiring a full-time Grain Plant Operator in East St. Louis, Illinois, paying $24.43 per hour. This hands-on role covers facility operations including receiving and shipping grain, fertilizer, chemicals, and seed; basic equipment maintenance and operator care; customer service; and strict safety and environmental compliance. Starting on 1st shift with a transition to 2nd shift. Apply via chat or text at careers.cargill.com or text CargillJobs to 60196.
About Cargill — Global Agricultural Leader
Company: Cargill — one of the world’s largest privately held corporations and a global leader in agricultural commodities, food, nutrition, and risk management solutions
Operations: Grain handling, oilseeds, fertilizers, animal nutrition, food ingredients, and financial risk management — serving farmers, food manufacturers, and consumers across more than 70 countries
East St. Louis Facility: A grain handling and agricultural inputs facility in East St. Louis, Illinois — strategically located in one of America’s most active inland agricultural commodity trading and river transport regions
Culture: Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/Veterans — Cargill is committed to an inclusive, respectful workplace that welcomes people from all backgrounds
Easy Apply: Chat with recruiting assistant Ana at careers.cargill.com or text CargillJobs to 60196 — simple, fast application options available
Compensation & Shift Details
Hourly Pay: $24.43 per hour — competitive agricultural operations pay rate
Starting Shift: 1st Shift — transitioning to 2nd shift as operations require
Availability: Must be able to work overtime, weekends, and holidays with advance notice
Work Eligibility: Must be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship
Interview Notice: Considered candidates will receive a phone call from a (952) area code
Position Overview
This Grain Plant Operator role at Cargill’s East St. Louis, Illinois facility is a full-time, physically active position at the heart of one of America’s most important agricultural commodity handling operations. You will perform daily facility operations — including receiving and shipping grain, fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, and seed; operating and maintaining facility equipment; delivering excellent customer service to farmers and agricultural customers; and maintaining a safe, clean, and compliant work environment in full adherence to all applicable safety rules and regulations. The role starts on 1st shift with an eventual transition to 2nd shift, pays $24.43 per hour, and requires the physical capability to lift up to 50 lbs, climb, crawl, bend, and work in outdoor and industrial agricultural environments across varying weather conditions.
Why This Role Matters: As Grain Plant Operator at Cargill in East St. Louis, Illinois — earning $24.43 per hour at one of the world’s most respected agricultural companies — you will be a key operational contributor to the grain handling and agricultural inputs supply chain that connects American farmers to the global food and agricultural commodity markets that feed people around the world, work in a genuinely dynamic, physically active agricultural operations environment where no two days are the same and the satisfaction of keeping critical agricultural infrastructure running smoothly is a daily reality, join the Cargill team in one of America’s most strategically important agricultural commodity trading regions — the East St. Louis / St. Louis metro area on the Mississippi River, which is at the crossroads of America’s grain belt and one of the busiest inland grain transport corridors in the country, and build a stable, well-compensated agricultural operations career at a global company whose scale, operational diversity, and commitment to inclusive employment make it one of the most reliable and professionally respected agricultural employers in the United States.
Key Responsibilities
Grain, Fertilizer, Chemical & Seed Receiving Operations
- Perform all product receiving operations at the East St. Louis facility — safely and efficiently unloading inbound grain deliveries from farm trucks, rail cars, and barges as applicable; receiving agricultural inputs including fertilizers, chemicals, and seed; verifying delivery documentation and quantities; sampling and grading received grain according to applicable USDA or facility grade standards; and recording all receiving transactions accurately in facility systems
- Operate grain receiving equipment — including dump pits, conveyors, bucket elevators, legs, and associated material handling infrastructure — safely and in accordance with facility operating procedures, ensuring that receiving equipment is operated within its design parameters and that grain is moved efficiently from receiving to the appropriate storage or processing destination
- Manage the safe unloading of agricultural inputs — including fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, and seed products — applying appropriate personal protective equipment and safe handling procedures for each product type, and ensuring that all received agricultural inputs are correctly labelled, segregated, and stored in designated areas in compliance with safety and regulatory requirements
- Maintain accurate receiving records — documenting product type, quantity, grade or quality parameters, supplier information, and delivery conditions for all received products in the facility’s record-keeping system, ensuring that the documentation trail is complete and accurate for inventory management, customer accounting, and regulatory compliance purposes
Grain Shipping & Outbound Product Operations
- Perform outbound shipping operations — loading grain and agricultural products for truck, rail, and barge delivery as applicable at the East St. Louis facility; verifying load weights and quantities against shipping documentation; preparing bills of lading and shipping records; and ensuring that all outbound products are correctly identified, graded, and documented before departure
- Operate outbound loading equipment — including belt conveyors, grain legs, spouts, and truck or rail loading systems — safely and efficiently, managing flow rates and load sequences to maximise throughput while maintaining equipment within safe operating parameters and minimising product spillage or quality deterioration during loading
- Verify outbound product quality and grade before loading — ensuring that grain quality meets contract or customer specifications, that product is free from contamination or condition issues that would render it unsuitable for the intended destination or use, and escalating any product quality concerns to supervisory staff promptly
- Complete all required shipping documentation accurately and on time — ensuring that every outbound load is accompanied by correct weight tickets, grade certificates, bills of lading, and any other required transport or regulatory documents that protect both Cargill and its customers through the outbound supply chain
Equipment Operation, Maintenance & Operator Care
- Perform basic maintenance and operator care of facility equipment — conducting pre-operation inspections of conveyors, elevators, motors, gates, valves, and other grain handling equipment; lubricating equipment as required; identifying and reporting mechanical issues, unusual sounds, vibrations, or equipment condition changes to maintenance staff; and contributing to the planned maintenance activities that keep the facility’s operational equipment in reliable working condition
- Monitor equipment performance during operations — observing conveyor belt tracking, elevator boot and head pulley condition, gate and valve operation, motor running temperatures, and other operational indicators that signal equipment health, and responding promptly to any equipment anomaly that could indicate developing mechanical failure or safety risk
- Maintain a clean and organised equipment environment — cleaning up grain spills, dust accumulation, and debris around operating equipment promptly to maintain safe working conditions, prevent fire and explosion risks from combustible grain dust, and comply with the facility’s housekeeping standards
- Support the maintenance team during planned and unplanned maintenance activities as directed — providing hands-on operational assistance for equipment repairs, adjustments, and inspections that require operator involvement, and applying basic mechanical aptitude to contribute effectively to the facility maintenance activities that sustain operational uptime
Safety Compliance & Workplace Safety
- Understand and adhere to all safety rules and regulations applicable to grain elevator and agricultural facility operations — including confined space entry procedures, lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures for energy isolation, fall protection requirements for elevated work areas (4 feet and above), personal protective equipment requirements, emergency response procedures, and all other safety protocols that protect workers in an industrial agricultural environment
- Work safely at elevated heights of 4 feet and above — applying required fall protection equipment and procedures when working on elevated platforms, catwalks, headhouses, and other elevated areas of the grain facility that are a normal part of plant operator responsibilities
- Maintain a safe and clean work environment throughout every shift — proactively identifying and addressing safety hazards, reporting unsafe conditions or near-miss incidents to supervisors, and contributing to the facility’s safety culture through personal example and active participation in safety meetings and training activities
- Work safely in various weather, industrial, and agricultural settings — adapting personal protective equipment selection and work practices appropriately to outdoor weather conditions, industrial dust and noise environments, and the seasonal operational demands of an agricultural grain handling facility operating year-round through all weather conditions
Customer Service, Teamwork & Additional Duties
- Provide excellent customer service to farmers, grain sellers, and agricultural input customers at the facility — greeting customers professionally, efficiently processing their transactions, accurately weighing and ticketing grain deliveries, answering customer questions clearly and helpfully, and representing Cargill’s commitment to reliable, respectful customer service in every interaction
- Engage effectively with fellow team members — working cooperatively and supportively with operators, maintenance staff, and supervisors across all shifts to ensure that facility operations run smoothly, that shift transitions are communicated clearly and completely, and that the team environment is positive, productive, and mutually respectful
- Complete all basic computer operations required for facility record-keeping, transaction processing, and reporting — using facility systems to enter receiving and shipping transactions, generate weight tickets and delivery receipts, and access operational information required for safe and accurate facility operations
- Perform other duties as assigned — demonstrating the flexibility, initiative, and willingness to contribute across a range of operational tasks that make an effective grain plant operator a genuinely valuable member of a Cargill agricultural facility team
Required & Preferred Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Must be eligible to work in the United States without visa sponsorship — US citizenship, permanent residency, or other qualifying work authorisation is required; this position does not offer any form of employment-based immigration sponsorship
- Must be 18 years of age or older at the time of employment — a mandatory age requirement for employment in this industrial agricultural facility role
- Physical capability to perform all required job duties — including bending, lifting up to 50 lbs, kneeling, climbing, crawling, and twisting with or without a reasonable accommodation, as required by the physical demands of grain plant operator work in an industrial agricultural facility
- Ability to understand and communicate in English — both verbal and written English communication ability is required for safe job performance, accurate completion of required documentation, and effective team and customer communication
- Basic computer use capability — able to operate facility computer systems for transaction entry, record-keeping, and operational information access as required in daily grain plant operator responsibilities
- Ability to work in various weather, industrial, and agricultural settings — comfortable and physically capable of working outdoors in all seasonal weather conditions and in indoor industrial environments with grain dust, noise, and operational equipment present
- Ability to work at elevated areas of 4 feet and above — required for safe operation in a grain elevator facility where elevated platforms, catwalks, and headhouse areas are normal parts of the operational environment
- Ability to work overtime, weekends, and holidays with advance notice — agricultural grain handling operations are seasonal and demand-driven; flexibility to work beyond standard schedule with advance notice is a genuine operational requirement
Preferred Qualifications
- Basic mechanical aptitude — the ability to understand, operate, and perform basic maintenance on mechanical equipment is a preferred qualification that will help a Grain Plant Operator contribute more effectively to facility equipment care and maintenance support activities from the start of employment
- Previous experience in grain handling, agricultural facility operations, manufacturing, or warehouse operations — while not required, any prior experience working in a physically active industrial or agricultural environment is an advantage that accelerates effective on-the-job performance in this role
About Cargill & Grain Operations in East St. Louis, Illinois
Cargill is one of the world’s most significant and enduring private companies — a global agricultural and food commodities giant founded in 1865 that today operates across more than 70 countries, employs approximately 160,000 people worldwide, and plays a foundational role in feeding the world through its grain trading, animal nutrition, food ingredient manufacturing, and risk management businesses. Cargill’s grain handling operations span hundreds of facilities across the American heartland — from the Great Plains to the Mississippi River corridor — and are a critical link in the supply chain that moves American-grown grain from farm fields to domestic food processors, livestock operations, and international export markets.
East St. Louis, Illinois sits at one of the most strategically important grain commodity intersections in America — where the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers converge to create one of the busiest inland grain barge corridors in the country, connecting Midwest grain farmers to Gulf Coast export terminals and international commodity markets. For plant operators, this location offers the professional experience of working in a genuinely high-volume, strategically significant agricultural commodity handling environment where the operational skills and work ethic of every facility employee contribute directly to the smooth functioning of an agricultural supply chain that serves global food security.
Career Excellence: Join Cargill as Grain Plant Operator in East St. Louis, Illinois — earning $24.43 per hour in a full-time role at one of the world’s most respected agricultural companies — where your physical capability, safety discipline, mechanical aptitude, and commitment to operational excellence will contribute to the grain handling operations that keep America’s agricultural supply chain moving efficiently, reliably, and safely every day.
Who Should Apply?
- Physically Active Workers Seeking Stable Agricultural Employment: Aged 18 or older, US work-authorised, physically capable of lifting 50 lbs and working in an outdoor/industrial agricultural setting — ready for a $24.43/hr full-time grain plant operator role at one of America’s most respected agricultural companies in East St. Louis, Illinois
- Grain Elevator or Agricultural Facility Experienced Workers: With previous experience in grain handling, grain elevator operations, fertilizer or seed facility work, or comparable agricultural operations — ready to bring that operational experience to a Cargill facility role with strong hourly pay and the professional backing of a global agricultural company
- Manufacturing or Warehouse Workers Transitioning to Agriculture: With a background in manufacturing, warehouse, or industrial facility operations — physically fit, mechanically inclined, and ready to apply industrial operational skills to grain plant operator work in a fast-paced agricultural commodity handling environment
- Illinois-Based Job Seekers Ready for Shift Work: Living in or willing to commute to East St. Louis, Illinois — comfortable with shift work including 1st shift transitioning to 2nd shift, plus overtime, weekend, and holiday availability — seeking stable full-time employment at a globally recognised agricultural employer
- Veterans & Diverse Job Seekers: Cargill is a committed Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability and Veterans — actively welcoming applications from military veterans, people with disabilities (with reasonable accommodation where applicable), and candidates from all backgrounds who meet the role’s physical and eligibility requirements
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