Animal Care Technician

Southern Research Institute • Birmingham, AL

41d

About The Position

This position is responsible for providing animal care and husbandry. The Animal Care Technician in the animal facility has a basic understanding of the principals involved in providing animal care and husbandry and a proven ability to work well in a team setting. This position is a member of an animal care team led by the Group Leader. This position reports directly to the Supervisor, Veterinary Services who will have direct management responsibility.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent with 1 year of related experience.
• Ability to work overtime when necessary and participate in weekend/holiday rotations
• Demonstrated ability to handle and restrain animals
• Ability to work in a team environment and willingness to learn new tasks
• This position requires the ability to meet all entry requirements, including medical and vaccination requirements for work in both an ABSL-2 and ABSL-3 laboratory environment.
• Immunizations are required for this position and are determined by the study/agent. Some examples include Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Smallpox, Polio, and Influenza.
• Must be a US Citizen

Responsibilities

• Handles and works with laboratory animals and the equipment, supplies, and materials required to provide for humane conditions.
• Executes key activities to maintain the care of laboratory animals, including but not limited to: o Cleans cages, equipment, and work area, and decontaminates animal rooms, this includes operating sanitizing equipment. o Provides support to the animal care facility. This includes, but is not limited to: vermin control, measuring and recording facility environmental factors (light intensity, directional airflow, quantitative airflow, water sample collection, timer checks, etc.), air filter changes, and lab cleaning/decontamination. o Provides clean housing, feed, water and appropriate enrichment for animals housed in the facility. o Gathers experimental data by measuring and recording body weights and temperatures, qualitative and quantitative food and water consumption, and observation of physical condition. o Transfers animals and animal identification to clean caging/racks, and materials from storage to work areas. o Transports laboratory equipment and materials to and from animal rooms. o Observes animals twice daily and reports abnormal findings to appropriate individual(s). o Stores feed, bedding, materials and equipment. o Operates and adjusts animal watering system. o Provides environmental enrichment and/or socialization to animals as directed. o Does general handling and restraint of animals. o Verifies and documents the operational status of various pieces of equipment and environmental conditions in animal facilities.
• Observes appropriate safety and study requirements by reading, understanding, and following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) and study protocols.
• Assists the supervisor, manager, and veterinarian as necessary.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Industry: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• Education Level: High school or GED
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees