Animal Care Technician I

Job Description

Responsible for carrying out the Animal Care Services' (ACS) directives and SOPs as governed by the Animal Welfare Act and all applicable rules, regulations and professional standards. Provides basic care of animals and animal facilities by completing primarily simple and routine animal caretaking and cage wash duties as directed by Operations Manager or their designee. All actions are completed by strictly and consistently following applicable ACS SOPs including IACUC and EHS safety procedures and policies. Reports any suspected or actual deviations to SOPs or non-routine situations immediately to Operations Manager or their designee.

• Changes cages and racks as scheduled
• Observes and reports animals for signs of illness, injury, and physical or behavioral changes
• Performs euthanasia of rodents using carbon dioxide with approved alternate secondary method
• Observes, documents, and reports changes in environmental parameters outside acceptable ranges, e.g. temperature, humidity, lighting, etc.
• Restraints and handles animals for treatment
• Sanitizes equipment and animal holding facilities
• Maintains supply stock in all assigned rooms for daily use of investigative staff
• Operates washers, autoclaves, water bottle fill stations and performs preventative maintenance tasks (i.e. jets are cleaned and sump tanks emptied daily)
• Ensures housing and environmental compliance with the "NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals"
• Maintains supply stock in all assigned rooms for daily use of investigative staff
• Transports caging supplies between animal rooms and cage wash rooms
• Sanitizes cage washing rooms and other support areas, such as hallways and storage rooms
• May provide guidance, instruction and direction to new ACT1 staff following directives provided by facility supervisor/manager
• May be part of the training program for all new staff and provide input and updates to facility manager
• Keeps up to date on SOP’s in Policy Manger and inputs time worked in Time Clock Plus using facility computers during normal working hours
• Ensures that leave requests, overtime requests and weekend change requests are submitted timely to area supervisor/manager
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent.

Prefer HS degree or higher with at least 1 years’ experience with research animal care at a research institution or other appropriate environment and one year of relevant experience; or certification as Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science. Appropriate college coursework or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience.

Special Instructions to Applicants

In order to be considered, applicants must provide a cover letter, resume, and list of professional references. Application must be submitted by 11:55 p.m. (ET) of the posting end date. This is not a remote position and is located on the University of Florida main campus in Gainesville, FL. A criminal background check is required.

Health Assessment Required

Yes