Technical Assistant I (Animal Care)

UMass Amherst•Amherst, NY

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Under the direct supervision of the Animal Care Managers, the Technical Assistant I performs a variety of duties related to the care of laboratory animals. The primary responsibilities are maintaining a clean and healthy environment for laboratory animals and observing them for general health and wellbeing. The role provides general technical assistance to supervisors or investigators and functionally supervises student employees. The position is essential personnel and is expected to report during campus emergency closings, including delayed openings and early closings. Employees reporting during emergency closure periods are compensated according to their collective bargaining agreements; those who do not report must use accrued time. The role is subject to final budgetary and administrative approval. Work takes place in a laboratory or healthcare setting and may involve exposure to chemicals or infectious diseases. The employee must be able to wear required personal protective equipment, including scrubs, exam gloves, head cover, dust mask, and shoe covers. Additional PPE, such as safety glasses, a face shield, a jumpsuit, or a respirator, may be required in some areas; showering may also be required. The regular schedule is 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The position participates in rotating on-call coverage and rotating weekend, holiday, and campus-closure coverage schedules, and may require responding to operational needs outside regular business hours. The work arrangement is onsite in Amherst.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
Four years of full-time relevant experience, such as animal husbandry or research experience with rodents or other research species, or daily care and observation of small mammals, birds, or similar animals in settings such as a pet store or zoo. Certification as an Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) by AALAS may substitute for the experience requirement.
Experience working with common laboratory animals.
Valid Class D state driver's license.
Ability to care for laboratory animals safely and sanitarily, using necessary equipment and established institutional procedures.
Ability to handle, restrain, and determine the gender of common laboratory animals without injuring the animals or endangering oneself or others.
Knowledge of universal identification systems used to mark laboratory animals and ability to maintain accurate identification records.
Knowledge of personal hygiene and safety concerning hazardous substances, institutional sanitation procedures, and the handling of equipment and chemicals used for cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing.
Ability to functionally supervise work-study students and schedule work efficiently and productively.
Basic to intermediate computing skills.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment; additional PPE and showering may be required depending on the work area.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of or experience working with ABSL-2 and ABSL-3.

Responsibilities

Observe, record, and report unusual environmental or facility conditions, maintenance issues, safety hazards, animal health or behavior findings, and suspected mistreatment or inappropriate treatment of animals.
Perform animal husbandry duties, including feeding, watering, and cleaning cages or pens.
Sanitize animal rooms, procedure rooms, corridors, cage-wash rooms, the animal morgue refrigerator, and the necropsy room.
Handle and restrain laboratory animals and determine their sex.
Maintain animal-room records, including census, sanitation, enrichment, feeding, and cage-card identification records.
Prepare and distribute routine medications as directed by veterinary staff, including medicated drinking water or feed.
Sanitize animal-care equipment.
Operate and perform routine maintenance on rack washers, autoclaves, animal-waste removal systems, and biosafety cabinets or clean-bench hoods.
Maintain validation records of cage-washer efficiencies and room-maintenance records for assigned areas.
Keep assigned work areas stocked with supplies needed for routine operations.
Remove and dispose of waste.
Follow Animal Biosafety Level 2 and 3 practices, including changing animals in a biosafety cabinet and specially handling and packaging bedding for incineration.
Provide general technical assistance to a supervisor or investigators.
Operate a University-owned or authorized motor vehicle to travel between assigned work sites for animal-care and related operational duties.
Functionally supervise student employees.
Perform other tasks as directed by the Supervisor of Animal Care.