Research Vivarium Husbandry

Job Description

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.

Duties & 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.

Required Qualifications:

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

Required Skills:

• 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.