Animal Care Technician

Sanford Health • Sioux Falls, SD

42d • $17 - $27

About The Position

Sanford Health is one of the largest and fastest-growing not-for-profit health systems in the United States. We’re proud to offer many development and advancement opportunities to our nearly 50,000 members of the Sanford Family who are dedicated to the work of health and healing across our broad footprint. At Sanford Research our Animal Resource Center team is dedicated to providing the highest level of care to the animals used in biomedical research. We are looking to add a compassionate and dedicated Animal Care Technician to our team. In this role, technicians provide top tier care for the animals and ensure safety and welfare for each species’ specific needs. Our team works diligently to maintain the animal research facility and collaborates with cross-functional teams to aid in ongoing research efforts. Must demonstrate an understanding of species-specific needs and be able to follow established protocols when working with animals. Administer any necessary experimental requirements, and monitor and record environmental conditions.

Requirements

• Associate degree required in registered veterinary technology (RVT) or holds an Registered Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (RALAT) certification or holds an AAS in Surgical Technology.

Nice To Haves

• One year experience in laboratory animal husbandry and/or an interest in pursuing a career in scientific research preferred.
• Registered Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (RALAT) recommended within six months of hire, and must be maintained throughout the appointment.

Responsibilities

• Provide daily husbandry for a variety of laboratory animals following specific experimental parameters. Animals may require specific experimental diets, daily medications delivered per oculus sinister (OS) or injected.
• Must follow established protocols, safety measures and operating procedures at all times, to include personal protective equipment (PPE) and other techniques used to prevent contamination, pathogen transfer or anything that may jeopardize the animals.
• Administer any necessary experimental requirements and monitor and record environmental conditions. Should understand and be able to use aseptic technique when performing a cage change to minimize transfer of potential pathogens.
• Develop and maintain breeding programs for various genetically engineered strains of mice and rats. Observe animals for abnormal behavior. Be educated on the experimental protocols to distinguish between an abnormality and experimental protocol.
• Must be skilled in handling and restraint for a variety of laboratory animals without causing injury or distress to the animal or themselves in order to change cages and/or make close observations. Must be knowledgeable and skilled in the application of animal identification, and must know how to interpret identification schemes used by the Large Animal Research Facility (LARF) and investigators.
• Understand and perform quarantine procedures on incoming animals. Must be able to perform oral gavage and intraperitoneal, intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, to interpret samples and maintain detailed records for animal care to meet federal regulations.
• Set up cadaver labs with appropriate utensils. Assist with preparing tissue for use. Package, store, and/or dispose of tissue after use in cadaver lab.
• Keep records on animal health, environmental parameters, environmental enrichment, sanitation, census and supply inventory.
• Occasional local travel between sites may be required, and may be responsible to work some weekends and/or holidays as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Associate degree