Lab Animal Care Technician

Position Summary:

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is seeking a Lab Animal Care Technician for Operations.

Among the key duties of the position are the following:

• Provides diversified care, feeding, transportation, and daily observation for all animal species used in research and teaching.
• Coordinates and assists in the general maintenance of the facilities.
• Ensures the humane care and treatment of the animals.
• Handles the daily maintenance of multiple animal colony rooms to be in compliance with animal welfare regulations, university and CMR policies.
• Oversees performance of animal husbandry and monitoring procedures with special attention to the needs of virus free species, observing and reporting signs of illness, injury or distress in animals.
• Interacts with their supervisor regarding needs of individual research projects and PI's and will become familiar with all project protocols as it relates to daily husbandry needs of the colony rooms they maintain.
• Ensures areas of noncompliance with regulations are reported; daily animal census is recorded and performs euthanasia when instructed.
• Provides basic care, feeding, transportation, and daily observation for all animal species used in research and teaching.
• Assists in the general maintenance of the facilities.
• Ensures the humane care and treatment of the animals

Minimum Education and Experience:

• High school/vocational school education or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.

Equipment Utilized:

• Cage washing equipment, autoclaves, floor scrubbers, chemical mixing stations, dry heat oven, etc.
• Various computer programs.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

• Ability to perform the physical demands of the job of being able to lift 50 pounds, push and pull heavy loads of equipment, twisting of upper trunk, repetitive and overhead lifting.
• May work in cage wash and animal room conditions while wearing safety apparel and personal protective equipment (PPE).
• May be bending, stooping, or reaching for long periods of time.
• Ability to stand or walk on hard surfaces for most of the workday, including slippery surfaces.
• The work environment includes potential exposure to zoonotic diseases, and the use of hazardous and restricted chemicals.
• Potential exposure to animal dander, fluids and soiled waste as well as cleaning chemicals.
• Wearing PPE may increase body temperature.

Special Conditions:

• Multiple Vacancies.