Habituation Technician I - Vet Services

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

Job Summary

Assist with performing appropriate acclimations for all animals to prepare them for study procedures. Assist with providing appropriate enrichments to the animals’ structural and social environments and provide opportunities for species-typical activities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :

⦁ Handle animals as required to perform acclimations that precondition animals for study procedures

⦁ Implement basic operant conditioning plans to modify animal behavior

⦁ Maintain, track and review data related to acclimation and enrichment programs

⦁ Receive deliveries of foodstuff items, label items, and ensure proper storage.

⦁ Assist with food prep and enrichment stock organization and cleanliness

⦁ Assist with providing appropriate enrichments to the animals’ structural and social environments and provide opportunities for species-typical activities.

⦁ Assist with the distribution for client specific enrichment per protocols

⦁ Assist with building and maintaining enrichment devices

⦁ Assist with evaluation of new enrichment devices and provide input on strategies for individually and socially housed animals.

⦁ Work closely with the veterinary and animal care staff to ensure proper animal care standards are maintained.

⦁ Maintain documentation for the Behavioral Management Program including data review

⦁ May be needed to provide support in other Lab Animal Medicine groups

⦁ Perform all other related duties as assigned.

The pay range for this position is $21.00 an hour. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

Job Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS :

⦁ Education : GED + 1 year experience or Bachelors degree (preferred) or Associates degree (or equivalent in animal or life sciences or related discipline).

⦁ Experience : 1+ years experience in animal research and / or husbandry; multi-species experience preferred or must have fully satisfied technical and experience requirements for the previous level.

⦁ An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.

⦁ Certification / Licensure : AALAS certification at the ALAT level preferred

⦁ Other : Ability to handle common laboratory species. Proficient in basic technical skills and the operation of data collection equipment. Knowledge of GLP’s and other federal regulations and guidelines relating to the care of laboratory animals. Understanding of routine study design and protocols.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS :

⦁ While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear and lift.

⦁ Must be able to regularly lift and manipulate up to 50 pounds on a repetitive basis each day over approximately 1 to 75 ft.

⦁ Must be able to regularly push wheeled carts weighing up to 1200 pounds on a repetitive basis each day over a distance of approximately 1 to 100 ft.

⦁ Duties require regularly standing for an average of 8 hours a 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 regularly read, understand, and follow written procedures.

⦁ Must be able to occasionally work in spaces as narrow as 2 feet.

⦁ Must be able to frequently accurately record data by hand.

⦁ Must be able to perform procedures, which require, talking, hearing, standing or sitting for long periods of time, entering data into a computer, using appropriate instruments, reaching with hands and arms, working in narrow spaces, and wearing safety equipment (PPE) according to OSHA regulations and company standards.

⦁ Must be able to frequently firmly hold species while utilizing fine motor skills.

⦁ Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT :

⦁ Works in a research environment, which requires use of sharp objects, working around mechanical parts, working with or near known or unknown toxic or caustic chemicals and / or biological hazards, exposure to fumes and airborne particles, working at noise levels ranging from moderate to loud.

⦁ The employee regularly works with live animals with risk of exposure to allergens, zoonotic disease, and biohazards.

⦁ The noise level in the work environment ranges from low to high depending upon the species housed. Noise protection is provided.

Comments :

⦁ This position requires overtime, weekend, holiday, and / or after hours shift coverage, as needed.

About Safety Assessment

Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market. Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

About Charles River

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world.

At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people’s lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly worked on 80% of the drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the past five years.

We’re committed to providing benefits that elevate your quality of life. Based on your position these may include : bonus / incentives based on performance, 401K, paid time off, stock purchase program, Health and wellness coverage, employee and family wellbeing support programs, and work life balance flexibility.