Teaching Laboratory Specialist

University of South Florida•Tampa, FL

About The Position

The Teaching Laboratory Specialist supports undergraduate chemistry teaching laboratories by preparing reagents and setting up equipment, materials, and instruments for student use. The specialist handles daily disbursement and return of laboratory equipment, demonstrates instruments, and provides teaching assistants with information needed to help laboratories operate smoothly and safely. The role also supports stockroom organization, laboratory safety, waste handling, inventory, and clerical tasks. The position may require working after 5 p.m.

Requirements

High school diploma.
Two years of work experience in instructional or laboratory work; college coursework may substitute for the required experience.

Responsibilities

Set up laboratory equipment and instrumentation for tests, analysis, or processes, and calibrate and troubleshoot equipment weekly, including NMR, IR, GC, and pH meters.
Prepare laboratory materials and equipment for the weekly teaching experiment.
Distribute and collect chemicals, equipment, and other materials used by students and teaching assistants.
Maintain records of equipment lost or damaged by students.
Keep the stockroom and laboratory workspace clean and organized, including washing glassware, cleaning benches and equipment, dusting surfaces, and disposing of shipping materials appropriately.
Remove full waste containers from teaching laboratories, transport waste to the approved accumulation area, label and record it, report it in HITS for pickup, and replace containers.
Report incidents and near misses in laboratories or the stockroom to the lab manager and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).
Prepare chemical solutions according to standardized formulas or standard operating procedures.
Refill chemicals in teaching laboratories.
Prepare and put away reagents, equipment, supplies, and specimens for laboratory sessions.
Test eyewash stations weekly and refill dish soap and hand soap at all locations weekly.
Inspect incoming materials against invoices or other documents, record shortages, request chemical purchases, and store chemicals and equipment in designated locations.
Provide clerical support, including creating Excel spreadsheets, labels, and other laboratory documents.
Conduct and update inventories of equipment, supplies, and reagents.
Enforce University safety rules and regulations through ongoing supervision of assigned teaching laboratories.
Communicate student anomalies or misconduct to teaching assistants and act when safety rules are not followed.
Report cases to the lab manager and, when necessary, ask students to leave the laboratory.
Perform other laboratory-related duties assigned by the lab manager and chemistry department.