Employment Type : Full-Time
JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS: Provide basic husbandry to laboratory animals, maintain animal cage card inventory numbers, Animal Husbandry and Room Maintenance Records, perform facility sanitation and operate facility equipment in animal facilities. Work schedules are assigned by the Facility Manager or his/her designee for that specific animal facility area. This position requires rotating weekend and holiday work hours, and involves daily exposure to laboratory animals and their waste products. Principal Duties and Responsibilities: Sanitize animal facility equipment including the use of cage washers and autoclaves for sterilization. Maintain animals’ rooms and facility hallways in a clean state to avoid secondary infections or contaminations. Animal room, cage wash, and hall way maintenance includes sanitation monitoring performed by taking bacterial cultures or RODAC plating. Perform work involving the handling of conventional and genetically engineered animals, animals with immuncompised health status, infectious diseases and animals recovering from surgery or other experimental procedures. Work with a variety of animals, including handling, restraint, feeding, watering and the general husbandry of the animals. Will perform duties within various animal biosafety levels. Change cages or pens following aseptic and conventional techniques and assure animals are not contaminated when outside of their primary enclosure. Recognize and report unusual conditions to the group leader/manager and or veterinary staff. Record critical facility data on a daily basis which is required by local, state and federal regulatory agencies. Perform routine euthanasia on laboratory animals according to the guidelines of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia. Set up, operate and service cage washing machines and sterilizing equipment as needed. Load, unload and store food, bedding and other facility equipment. Prepare special diets and assist in delivering special diets, supplements and other equipment used in the daily operations of the facility. Assist the grade 5 and 6 technicians with receiving incoming animals and supplies. Perform minor maintenance duties on equipment, i.e. tighten bolts, belts, etc. Operate battery powered cart and/or University motor vehicle (box truck/tractor) as necessary. Comply with animal facility and Penn State Hershey policies and standard operating procedures. Attend technician meeting and training sessions on all aspects of laboratory animal care and uses of animals in biomedical research as assigned by the management staff. Assist as needed with the guidance and training of new technicians. Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein. Job Requirements: This is an entry level position, some experience in the care and handling of animals is preferred. This position requires the knowledge and ability to learn to use various technical animal care and research equipment, including autoclaves, restraint devices, class II bio-safety cabinets, ventilated cage rack systems, micro isolator cages, flexible film isolators, and cage washers. This position requires proficient verbal and written English and mathematic skills pertinent to the duties of this position and situations encountered in the animal facility. Demonstrate proficiency for core SOP’s. Requires the ability to work independently and in a team setting. Customer focused attitude and enjoys working with other similarly dedicated persons is a must. Requires the ability to lift up to 50 lbs. on a regular basis with or without accommodation and requires long periods of standing. The animal facility has a variety of environmental conditions including exposure to noise, dust, chemical, heat and animal waste products. Some aspects of this position may expose the employee to potentially fatal zoonotic diseases. The use of appropriate protective clothing and equipment may be required and will be provided, when required, along with the proper training. Work requires a high school diploma or equivalent. ALAT certification is recommended. Must have a valid driver’s license. Shift: This is a wage payroll position, temporary. Shift: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday. CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS: Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here . Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. EEO is the Law Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applications without regards to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.