Animal Health Tech I

About the role

The Animal Health Tech I position is responsible for routine processing of clean and soiled cages and accessories, maintenance and general janitorial duties in animal facilities, equipment maintenance, basic QA testing, processing deliveries from vendors and performing basic rodent husbandry tasks based on standard operating procedures and training to ensure compliance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the Animal Welfare Act and Regulations as well as all applicable federal, state, local and institutional laws, regulations, policies and guidelines.

Responsibilities

• AHT 1, LEVEL A: Cleans, sanitizes/sterilizes, and maintains rodent cages, accessories, and equipment including large cage washers and sterilizing equipment. Maintains and verifies sanitization/sterilization parameters and prepares specialized caging when required. Maintains sufficient supply of clean cages and accessories for use by technicians/investigators. Maintains stock and cleanliness of animal rooms and common areas. Manages animal carcasses in soiled cage wash and other procedure rooms for disposal. Performs general janitorial duties including sweeping, mopping, disinfecting, and trash disposal. Performs other related duties as assigned by management.
• AHT 1, LEVEL B: IN ADDITION TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEVEL A: Cleans, sanitizes and/or sterilizes multi-species (including NHP, amphibians and aquatics) cages, equipment and accessories. Removes and processes biohazard waste materials from caging and from facilities. Maintains storage rooms with appropriate levels of tools and caging materials. Manages USDA covered species carcasses in soiled cage wash, necropsy and other procedure rooms for disposal. Collects cages targeted for euthanasia and performs euthanasia as needed. Performs basic husbandry tasks which can include preparing disinfectant solutions, preparing caging supplies, and processing stock equipment and materials. Assists with creating Standard Operating Procedures and training lower level staff.
• AHT 1, LEVEL C: IN ADDITION TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEVEL A/B: Receives and processes all deliveries of equipment and materials from vendors. Assists with QA testing and tracking (e.g.: luminometer/ ATP, airflow, etc.). Performs husbandry health/line checks and cage changes, assists with additional equipment maintenance. Supports Rodent Sentinel health monitoring program with acquisition of bedding samples as assigned using approved techniques.

Requirements

• No prior experience or training (AHT I, Level A): Minimum 6 months of related work experience (AHT 1, Level B): Minimum 1 year of related work experience (AHT I, Level C)
• High school diploma or general education degree (GED), or one to three months related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Preferred: AALAS Certification – ALAT or higher level. Preferred: Experience working in a lab animal environment. Computer skills required: Microsoft Office and Excel preferred. Other skills required: Must be able to work weekends and holidays as well as shifted work weeks such as Wednesday – Sunday or Saturday – Wednesday.

Physical Requirements/Mental Activities/Environmental Conditions

This position will require constant adjusting of focus, hearing, lifting 0-20 lbs., reaching, seeing, standing, communicating, and exposure to: fumes/odors/mists/dusts, noise, potential allergens, and working inside.

Benefits

Salk Institute provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the institute reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, patient advocacy services, and transit/parking program.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal access to opportunities for students, employees, applicants for employment and other visitors. Salk has also adopted and maintains a policy to encourage professional and respectful workplace behavior and prevent discriminatory and harassing conduct in our workplace. Accordingly, the Institute prohibits harassment and discrimination in employment on the basis of, and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to, actual or perceived race (race is inclusive of traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles. Protective hairstyles include, but not limited to, such hairstyles as braids, and twists), color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), reproductive health decision making, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status (disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era, other covered veteran status), political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law. Discrimination is prohibited with any intersectionality of the above-mentioned characteristics, including: Any combination of characteristics. A perception that the person has any of the characteristics or any combination of those characteristics. A perception that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics or any combination of those characteristics.