Operations & Staffing
Dishwasher Job Description
An editable dishwasher job description pre-filled with real dish pit duties: machine operation, the three-compartment sink, closing sanitation, and honest physical demands. Adjust the pay and details, then copy the whole posting into Indeed, Craigslist, or your hiring and scheduling workflow. Job seekers: the duties lists below double as copy-ready bullet points for a dishwasher resume.
Dishwasher Role Snapshot
Median Pay (BLS, May 2025)
$16.73/hr
Typical Shift
6-9 hours, evenings
Experience Req.
None (entry-level)
Promotion Path
Prep cook in 3-6 months
Pre-filled with industry-standard dishwasher duties. Edit any field or list item, preview, then copy the full posting.
Primary Responsibilities
Closing & Deep-Clean Duties
Requirements & Qualifications
Physical Demands
Schedule
Benefits & Perks
Dishwasher
Your Restaurant Name • City, State
About the Role
We are hiring a Dishwasher to keep our kitchen supplied with clean plates, glassware, and cookware through every service. You will run the dish machine, work the three-compartment sink, and keep the dish pit, floors, and trash areas clean and safe. This is a no-experience-required position with full training and a direct promotion path into prep cook for people who show up on time and keep pace.
Primary Responsibilities
- Operate the commercial dish machine: scrape, spray, rack, load, and run cycles at a steady pace through service
- Verify machine wash and final-rinse temperatures against the data plate at the start of each shift and log readings
- Hand-wash pots, pans, and prep equipment in the three-compartment sink using the wash, rinse, sanitize sequence
- Test sanitizer concentration with test strips at setup and every few hours; change solution when it drops below spec or gets visibly soiled
- Sort and return clean dishes, flatware, and smallwares to their stations so cooks and servers never run short mid-service
- Empty trash and recycling throughout the shift, break down cardboard, and keep the dumpster area clean and closed
- Sweep and mop kitchen floors, flush and clean floor drains, and swap out floor mats
- Help receive deliveries and rotate stock first-in, first-out when the pit is caught up
Closing & Deep-Clean Duties
- Drain, clean, and de-lime the dish machine; remove and scrub wash arms, curtains, and strainer trays
- Break down, scrub, and sanitize the three-compartment sink, drainboards, and dish tables
- Deep-clean the dish pit: walls, shelving, and floor drains on the posted rotation
- Run final loads of bar glassware and service items after the kitchen closes
- Take out end-of-night trash and reset the pit so the opening shift starts clean
Requirements & Qualifications
- Must be at least 16 years old (18+ required for closing shifts at some locations)
- No experience required. We train machine operation, sink setup, and chemical handling on the job
- Willingness to follow food safety and sanitation procedures, including a food handler card where required
- Reliable attendance and punctuality. The kitchen cannot run service without dish coverage
- Team mindset: willing to jump on prep, receiving, or bussing support when the pit is clear
Physical Demands
- Stand and walk for a full 8-hour shift, mostly on wet floors (slip-resistant shoes required)
- Lift and carry up to 50 lbs (stock pots, bus tubs, trash bags) and push loaded carts
- Work in a hot, humid, noisy environment next to a high-temperature dish machine
- Hands in water and cleaning chemicals for extended periods; gloves and aprons provided
- Repetitive bending, reaching, spraying, and scrubbing throughout the shift
Schedule
- Evening and weekend availability strongly preferred; dish volume peaks Friday through Sunday
- Typical shifts: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (lunch and prep) or 4 p.m. to close (dinner service)
- Closing shifts end 1 to 2 hours after the kitchen stops serving
What We Offer
- Competitive hourly wage ($17-$20/hr — above the $16.73 national median, BLS May 2025 OES), paid weekly
- Free shift meal every shift worked
- Clear promotion path to Prep Cook within 3-6 months for strong performers
- Flexible scheduling that works around school or a second job
- Slip-resistant shoe stipend plus all gloves and protective gear provided
- Employee dining discount
How to Apply
Apply in person at Your Restaurant Name or send your resume to [email]. We are an equal opportunity employer.
What Does a Restaurant Dishwasher Do?
A dishwasher (also listed as dish machine operator, kitchen porter, or steward) keeps the kitchen supplied with clean, sanitized plates, glassware, and cookware through service. The role covers the dish machine, the three-compartment pot sink, trash and recycling, floors and drains, and usually the closing sanitation of the whole dish area. It is also the kitchen's last line of defense on health inspections: sanitizer concentration, water temperatures, and clean food-contact surfaces all live in the dish pit. Build those checks into your restaurant cleaning checklist so they get logged, not just done.
The Dish Pit Workflow
Every dish follows the same six stages, whether it runs through a machine or the pot sink. Train new hires on this sequence during their first shift — skipping the scrape step is the number one cause of rewashes and clogged drains.
The six-stage dish pit flow. Steps 3–5 have legal minimums under the FDA Food Code — see the temperature table below.
Machine vs. Manual Sanitizing Temperatures
These minimums come from the FDA Food Code 2022 (sections 4-501.110 through 4-501.114 and 4-703.11). Most states adopt the Food Code with minor edits, so verify against your local health code, but expect your inspector to check these exact numbers.
| Setup | Wash | Sanitize | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| High-temp machine (stationary rack, single temp) | 165°F min | 165°F final rinse at manifold | Dish surface must hit 160°F |
| High-temp machine (all other types: conveyor, multi-tank, dual-temp) | 150–160°F by machine type | 180°F final rinse (194°F max) | Dish surface must hit 160°F |
| Low-temp chemical machine | Per machine data plate | Chlorine 50–99 ppm in 75°F+ water | 7+ seconds contact |
| 3-compartment sink, hot water | 110°F min wash | Immerse in 171°F+ water | 30 seconds immersion |
| 3-compartment sink, chemical | 110°F min wash | Chlorine 50–99 ppm or quat per label, 75°F+ | 30 seconds for quat / most sanitizers |
Make temperature checks part of the job description
A dishwasher who logs machine temps and test-strips the sanitizer sink is doing inspector-facing work. Spell it out in the duties list (the template above already does) and cover the why during food safety training. Document the how in a written SOP posted at the machine.
How Much Should You Pay a Dishwasher?
Per BLS May 2025 OES data, the national median wage for dishwashers is $16.73/hr (about $34,810 a year full-time). A quarter of dishwashers now earn $18.00/hr or more. If your posting says “$13/hr” in a market where the median is $16+, it will sit unanswered while the QSR down the street hires your applicants.
Dishwasher Pay, National Data
BLS OES, May 2025 • SOC 35-9021
$16.73/hr
national median wage for dishwashers
10th percentile
$12.59
25th percentile
$14.27
Median
$16.73
75th percentile
$18.00
90th percentile
$20.61
Per BLS May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for “Dishwashers” (occupation code 35-9021). Dishwashers are rarely in the tip pool, so the posted wage is the whole offer — which is why posting at or above your local median matters more here than for tipped roles.
5 Dishwasher Interview Questions
Keep the interview to 15 minutes. You are screening for stamina, composure, and reliability — not culinary knowledge. For the full question bank covering every position, see our restaurant interview questions tool.
Dishwasher Turnover Is Brutal. 4 Levers That Work
BLS JOLTS data has accommodation and food services quits running around 4% a month through 2025 — roughly half the crew walking in a year — and the dish pit turns over faster than any other station. Every departure costs you a slow week of service and another round of training. These four levers are what actually moves the number:
1. Pay at or above your local median
The national median is $16.73/hr per BLS May 2025 data, and dishwashers get no tips to close the gap. Posting $1 over the going rate costs roughly $2,000 a year per full-time dishwasher and is cheaper than one round of re-hiring and re-training.
2. Put the prep cook path in writing
Give a date, not a vibe: 'After 90 days of solid attendance, you start two prep shifts a week with knife training.' Dishwashers quit jobs that go nowhere; they stay in kitchens that are visibly training them for the next station.
3. Fix the pit itself
A broken pre-rinse sprayer, no dry aprons, missing gloves, and a flooding drain make people quit by Friday. Working equipment, fresh dry mats, a fan moving air, and a stocked glove shelf cost a few hundred dollars and change how the job feels every single hour.
4. Respect the schedule
Consistent shifts posted a week ahead, a real cutoff time for closers, and never sending someone home early to save two labor hours. Dish crews compare notes: the kitchen that honors the posted schedule keeps its people.
Consistent scheduling starts with a system. Our free employee schedule template keeps shifts posted and predictable.
The Dishwasher to Prep Cook Path
The dish pit is where most kitchen careers start. A dishwasher sees every pan the line uses and learns the menu by cleaning it. Move strong performers onto prep shifts within their first six months, then toward the line. Promoting from the pit is cheaper than recruiting cooks, and it makes the dishwasher job worth taking seriously.
Dishwasher
Start here
Prep Cook
3-6 months
Line Cook
12-18 months
Lead Line Cook / Sous Chef
2-5 years
Related Tools & Guides
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Line Cook Job Description
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Restaurant Cleaning Checklist
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Employee Schedule Template
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