Animal Care Technician I

University of Florida•Gainesville, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Responsible for carrying out the Animal Care Services' (ACS) directives and SOPs as governed by the Animal Welfare Act and all applicable rules, regulations and professional standards. Provides basic care of animals and animal facilities by completing primarily simple and routine animal caretaking and cage wash duties as directed by Operations Manager or their designee. All actions are completed by strictly and consistently following applicable ACS SOPs including IACUC and EHS safety procedures and policies. Reports any suspected or actual deviations to SOPs or non-routine situations immediately to Operations Manager or their designee.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.

Nice To Haves

HS degree or higher with at least 1 years’ experience with research animal care at a research institution or other appropriate environment and one year of relevant experience; or certification as Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.
Appropriate college coursework or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience.
Maintains a valid state driver’s license.
Able to be accepted by Veterans Administration as a WOC or contract employee as required and maintain status.
Maintains a valid FL state driver's license.

Responsibilities

Change cages and racks as scheduled.
Observe and report animals for signs of illness, injury, and physical or behavioral changes.
Under supervision, perform euthanasia of rodents using carbon dioxide with approved alternate secondary method.
Observe, document, and report changes in environmental parameters outside acceptable ranges, e.g. temperature, humidity, lighting, etc.
Restrain and handle animals for treatment.
Sanitize equipment and animal holding facilities.
Ensure housing and environmental compliance with the "NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Maintain supply stock in all assigned rooms for daily use of investigative staff.
Operate washers, autoclaves, water bottle fill stations.
Perform preventative maintenance tasks (i.e. jets are cleaned and sump tanks emptied daily) outlined in cage wash maintenance sheet on main area door.
Perform routine start-up and shut down procedures of equipment as outlined in SOP’s.
Ensure equipment being processed is in optimal condition and removed from circulation if damaged or worn.
Perform scheduled quality control tests of equipment and submit samples (biological indicators, water sample etc.) to ACS diagnostic lab for processing.
Assist in receiving and rotating feed and supplies.
Transport caging supplies between animal rooms and cage wash rooms.
Sanitize cage washing rooms and other support areas, such as hallways and storage rooms.
May provide guidance, instruction and direction to new ACT1 staff following directives provided by facility supervisor/manager.
May be part of the training program for all new staff and provide input and updates to facility manager.
Keep up to date on SOP’s in Policy Manger and input time worked in Time Clock Plus using facility computers during normal working hours.
Ensure that leave requests, overtime requests and weekend change requests are submitted timely to area supervisor/manager.
Other duties as assigned.