Animal care technician

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Summary

We are seeking an  Animal Care Technician II to join our Insourcing Solutions team, located in Cambridge, MA.

Work schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM (during training). Once training is complete, Sunday-Thursday OR Tuesday-Saturday based on business needs.

In the Animal Care Technician II role, you will maintain, monitor and document the health, production, and physical environment within the customer's varied animal care facilities.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Reviews, comprehends and complies with all SOP's and quality assurance standards pertaining to specific area.
• Monitors daily animal health and welfare while performing daily animal health observations, animal husbandry duties to maintain quality and health of research animals, to include: perform daily water bottle /automatic water line and cage checks; provide appropriate food and water; perform cage changing and/or cage cleaning as required; record animal health concerns per SOP and/or specified protocols.
• Maintains accurate records of animal breeding, health, and housing/isolator or support areas as required by Institute and facility.
• Assists with restraint, handling and manipulation of various animal species as assigned by the on-site Supervisor or facility veterinarian.
• Strictly follows all procedures necessary to maintain animal housing areas or semi-rigid isolator environments, including room or facility personnel entry; personnel protective equipment use, spraying in all equipment and materials into controlled areas.
• Receives, inspects and puts away incoming animals; ensures and provides for sentinel animals in each rodent housing area.
• May be involved in strictly maintaining and following breeding and weaning procedures to ensure appropriate production levels.
• Operates equipment and uses supplies according to safety guidelines; performs general housekeeping and adheres to safety procedures.
• Maintains required attendance level and adherence to work schedule in accordance with required staffing levels in order to ensure that assigned duties are completed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

To qualify for this role, candidates must have one of the following combinations of education/experience:

• High School Diploma or G.E.D. plus a minimum of two years’ experience working in a laboratory animal facility performing animal husbandry
• Associates degree in animal science or related field plus a minimum of one to two years’ experience working in a laboratory animal facility performing animal husbandry.
• Bachelors degree in animal science or related field plus minimum of 1 year experience working in laboratory animal facility performing animal husbandry.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Must be able to follow verbal and written instructions.
• Must be able to exhibit interpersonal skills that are conducive to effective communication and that contribute to a congenial work environment.
• Maintain positive work atmosphere by behaving and communicating in a professional manner with clients, customers, coworkers, and supervisors.
• Ability to read, write, speak and understand high school level English.
• Proficient in Computers (IE: Timekeeping, training software, word processing).
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification/Licensure: Preference will be given to candidates who evidence achievement of AALAS certification at the ALAT level or above.
• Database record keeping.
  
  

The pay range for this position is $26.00-$29.00/ hour. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

About Insourcing Solutions

Charles River Insourcing Solutions℠ can streamline research by delivering operational and cost efficiencies through the strategic insourcing of GMP, GLP and non-GLP research services from discovery through safety assessment. Insourcing Solutions℠ provides you with the ability to maintain control of your facility and expertise while leveraging available space.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

We’re committed to providing benefits that elevate your quality of life. Based on your position these may include: bonus/incentives based on performance, 401K, paid time off, stock purchase program, Health and wellness coverage, employee and family wellbeing support programs, and work life balance flexibility.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, family status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

It is unlawful in some states (including Massachusetts) to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e-mail message to [email protected]. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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