3 month contract, potential for extension or conversion

Job Summary:

Responsible for assisting in vivarium operations activities which facilitate clean housing and care for laboratory animals. Also responsible for helping assist in the preparation of materials which enable study activity completion.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

· Clean and sanitize animal cages and related environmental items.

· Perform daily routine maintenance checks on the automated cage wash machines.

· Prepares appropriate housing for receipt of new animals; may assist with receiving animals.

· Report the need for equipment repair (cages, racks, cagewash machines, etc.) to the appropriate personnel.

· Sanitize floors, walls and other surfaces in the automatic cage wash area and in other areas of the lab.

· Maintain a clean cage wash area.

· Maintain storage area in an organized fashion.

· Complete animal care technical duties such as changing liners and sanitizing animal room walls and floors.

· Receive, store, and distribute animal husbandry supplies.

· Perform limited troubleshooting and calibration of instruments as appropriate for assigned area.

· Prepare environmental enrichment items (edible and durable).

· Operate basic lab equipment and perform routine maintenance as needed.

· Prepare study and colony supplies as needed.

Qualifications:

· Education: High School diploma or General Education Degree (G.E.D) preferred.

· Experience: No experience necessary

· An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.

· Demonstrated ability to problem solve, make quick decisions, communicate decisions effectively.

· Ability to communicate verbally and in writing at all levels inside and outside the organization.

· Ability to work extended hours beyond normal work schedule to include, but not limited to evenings, weekends, extended shifts, and/or extra shifts; sometimes on short notice

· Ability to work under specific time constraints.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

· While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and lift.

· Specific vision abilities required by this job regularly requires close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

· Must be able to regularly lift and manipulate up to 50 pounds on a repetitive basis each day.

· Must be able to regularly manipulate objects on shelves from one and one-half to six and one-half feet above the floor on a repetitive basis each day.

· Must be able to use a broom and mop to sanitize floors on a repetitive basis each day.

· Must be able to regularly push wheeled carts weighing up to 800 pounds on a continuous basis each day.

· Duties require regular standing for an average of eight hours a day.

· Must be able to regularly read, understand, and follow written procedures.

· Must be able to occasionally work in spaces as narrow as 2 feet in width.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

· The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high. Noise protection devices are provided for use in the cage wash area.

· Must be able to regularly endure wet, humid, and hot conditions.

· Must be able to wear a respirator where required by OSHA regulations.

· Works near or with caustic chemicals.

· Regularly exposed to rodent dander.

· The employee is occasionally exposed to live animals with risk of exposure to allergens, zoonotic disease, and biohazards.