Laboratory Associate, Bureau of the Public Health Laboratory

About the role

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the United States. Its mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, with a vision of a city where everyone can realize their full health potential regardless of identity, age, origin, or residence. The agency serves as the city’s population health strategist and policy authority, leading programs in food and nutrition, anti‑tobacco, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice. Its five strategic priorities are: (1) building a response‑ready organization for health emergencies; (2) addressing chronic and diet‑related disease, including childhood obesity and diabetes, and transforming food systems; (3) tackling the second pandemic of mental illness by reducing overdose deaths, strengthening youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness; (4) reducing Black maternal mortality and making New York a model for women’s health; (5) mobilizing against the health impacts of climate change.

Responsibilities

• Removes laboratory waste from lab units.
• Receives, stores, and distributes laboratory supplies and equipment.
• Cleans and operates equipment as required.
• Performs and documents daily and weekly routine maintenance and quality‑control procedures on all lab equipment.
• Cleans and sterilizes animal cages and lids on a regular basis.
• Performs inventory and maintains adequate stock of media, reagents, and other supplies.
• Ships specimens to appropriate external laboratories.
• Maintains storage and security of laboratory inventory supplies and equipment.
• Prepares media and other supplies for distribution throughout the building.
• Maintains upkeep of designated laboratory instruments before and after usage.
• Assigned to the receiving/stock room of the laboratory; receives, sorts, accessions, and delivers specimens (including outbreak specimens) to the testing laboratory.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent plus one of the following:

• One year of appropriate full‑time experience or training in a biological, chemical, or clinical laboratory;
• Eight credits, including laboratory coursework, in biology, chemistry, or medical technology from an accredited college or university;
• A satisfactory equivalent combination of the above experience and education.

All candidates must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in a clinical or environmental diagnostic testing laboratory.
• Good communication skills.

Benefits

• Premium‑free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10,000 annually (2024 assessment).
• Additional health, fitness, and financial benefits available depending on the position’s associated union/benefit fund.
• Public‑sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
• Tax‑deferred savings program.
• Robust Worksite Wellness program offering resources and opportunities to stay healthy while serving New Yorkers.
• Work‑from‑home flexibility: up to two days per week, depending on the position.
• Enhanced job security compared