Animal Lab Tech II - Comparative Medicine

The Comparative Medicine department is seeking a motivated and experienced Animal Lab Tech II to join their team!

The Department of Comparative Medicine is dedicated to the facilitation of biomedical research utilizing animals, while striving to maintain the highest quality of ethical, humane and appropriate animal care. The Department is committed to continuing to improve the quality of services provided to research investigators for the purpose of improving the health of humans and animals. We support groundbreaking research with consultation, training, veterinary care, and facility maintenance services. To learn more, please visit Comparative Medicine | Cedars-Sinai.

Are you ready to be a part of groundbreaking research?

The Animal Laboratory Technician II (ALTII) is an advanced-level position for technicians with experience in the husbandry of laboratory animals. Job responsibilities include knowledge and application of relevant laboratory animal medicine standards, rules, and regulations. The ALT II performs husbandry tasks for all species housed in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) facilities and veterinary related procedures as trained by the Clinical Staff. Husbandry tasks include daily health case observations of animals and reporting of cases directly to the Clinical Staff, sanitization of primary enclosures, food and water checks, general animal room maintenance, and bar coding for animal census. The ALTII will also assist the ALTIII and/or the Supervisor with training of new Technicians, managing vendor deliveries of animals/equipment/supplies, and irradiation confirmation of all incoming diets. As an advanced-level position, the ALTII must be proficient with the husbandry of all animals housed in CM and possess knowledge of CM standard operating procedures (SOPs), policies, and procedures.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Performs routine and special feeding, watering, handling (safely transferring animals from one enclosure to another) and changes cages or primary enclosure for all species housed in the vivarium including USDA covered species.
• Processes service requests submitted by research staff to provide special diets and medicated water to animals in the vivarium.
• Assists clinical and research staff with animal handling and provides treatments (including basic, intermediate and advanced) for rodents, this may include procedures such as SQ, IP injections and topical applications.
• Performs veterinary related tasks post training by Clinical Staff and maintains clinical records as required; rodent breeding tasks may be performed as needed.
• Provides species-specific environmental enrichment to animals according to CM standards. In addition, supports environmental enrichment initiatives, conducts assessments for new items and provides feedback for all species.
• Receives animals from vendors, assists the Animal Care Coordinator with animal delivery reports and identification of obvious health abnormalities and deviations from the ordered type, quantity or sex.
• Performs barcoding scanning of animal cage cards for billing and census purposes, participate in census reconciliation, and issue census reports as needed.
• Works with ALTIII to audit inventory of feed and bedding, supplies and equipment.
• Stores and dispenses special diets ordered by Research Staff; this includes appropriate labeling, assigning secondary containers, and following proper storage conditions.
• Assists with decontamination of Vivarium spaces as needed (after training and proficiency assessment).
• Supports ALTIII and Supervisors with on-the-floor vivarium training for laboratory staff including the use of Animal Transfer Stations (ATS)/Biological Safety Cabinets (BSC), proper micro-isolator technique, facility workflow, and large animal species, among other techniques. Additionally, assists the ALTIII and Supervisors with training of new CM employees hired in the classification of ALTI and ALTII.
• Responsible for independently identifying additional tasks (other than those assigned) which need to be performed.

Qualifications

Education:

• A High School Diploma/GED is required. A bachelor's degree is preferred with relevant coursework in laboratory animal sciences.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Assistant Laboratory Animal Tech (ALAT) from the AALAS is required. Laboratory Animal Technician (LAT) from the AALAS is preferred.
• Valid and current driver's license is required.

Experience and Skills:

• Three (3) years of Laboratory Animal Science experience is required.
• Ability to learn, apply and maintain compliance with the rules and regulations governing the care and use of animals in research.
• Ability to provide and/or support a level of work excellence and accuracy; recognize and address flaws or errors that others may overlook. Ability to document tasks in an orderly, timely and accurately manner.
• Ability to convey and/or receive written/verbal information to/from various audiences in different formats.
• Able to follow written and oral instructions in English.
• Ability to handle multiple demands and/or manage complex and competing priorities.
• Knowledge of Microsoft windows, ability to learn other systems that support operations in the vivarium.