Research Technician, BPSc Program

University of British Columbia - Staff; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 4,000 - 5,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading university is seeking a Research Technician for the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences program. The role involves providing technical support in teaching laboratories, preparing materials, and assisting students and instructors. Ideal candidates will have strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and relevant educational background. The position offers a competitive salary and an opportunity to contribute to a diverse and inclusive academic environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum two years of related experience or equivalent education.
• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives.

Responsibilities

• Prepare materials for teaching labs and maintain inventories.
• Assist Laboratory Instructors with technical support and lab optimizations.
• Ensure safety obligations are met and maintain lab equipment.

Skills

Attention to Detail

Communication

Organizational Skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Biology

MSc in a relevant discipline

Tools

Autoclaves

Incubators

Thermocyclers

Gel Electrophoresis Chambers

Job description

Staff - Union

Job Category CUPE 116 Job ProfileCUPE 116 Salaried - Research Assistant /Technician 2 Job Title Research Technician, BPSc Program Department Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Laboratory Support | Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Compensation Range $4,426.00 - $4,845.00 CAD Monthly Posting End Date May 31, 2025

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Please note this is an ongoing position. This role is expected to start at Step 1 of the salary scale. The anticipated start date for this role is July 1, 2025. Please ensure your application includes a CV or resume, a one-page cover letter, and the names and contact information for three references

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Description Summary
The primary responsibility of the BPSc Research Assistant/Technician 2 is to provide technical support in the teaching laboratories for the Pharmaceutical Sciences Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPSc) courses PHAR 203, 304, 307, and any other courses as directed by the Program Director; Associate Dean, Academic (ADA); or the Dean. This is a full-time position directly supporting lab courses over the winter terms (September - April) and performing lab optimizations and offering support to summer student researchers during the summer terms (May - August). This requires theoretical and practical knowledge of common techniques used in molecular biology (cloning, PCR, mammalian cell culture, gel electrophoresis, western blotting, recombinant protein production, etc.) to prepare materials for the teaching laboratories, and troubleshoot problems with laboratory experiments with guidance from the Laboratory Instructors. Tasks will be assigned and discussed regularly with the Laboratory Instructors; however, the technician will be expected to plan and schedule their own work. The technician requires good organizational skills to coordinate and complete all required tasks each week for multiple sections of different courses.

Organizational Status
The position reports to directly the laboratory instructors for teaching and technical related matters, and to Laboratory Head for all other matters.

Work Performed

• Prepare materials for teaching labs, including but not limited to stock solutions, reagents, media, bacterial culture, mammalian culture, restriction digests, DNA ligations, PCRs, purified recombinant protein.
• Set out materials, reagents, and equipment for the teaching labs as requested by the course instructor, and clear and clean materials and equipment after student labs, including cleaning and disposal of materials as needed, within safety guidelines.
• Organize and maintain inventories of chemicals, biological materials, consumables, and other stocks and reagents.
• Receive goods and shipments and maintain a receiving logbook.
• Participate in routine purchasing of laboratory consumables and reagents.
• Clean and prepare all glassware for teaching labs (glassware washing machines available).
• Autoclave and dispose of biowaste according to UBC and Faculty protocols.
• Ensure all safety obligations are met and maintain safe lab practices.
• Routinely clean and maintain proper operation of common lab equipment and apparatus such as pipettors, analytical and top-loading balances, magnetic stirring hot plates, incubators, water baths, vacuum pump, and pH meters. This includes the routine calibration of pH meters.
• Assist Laboratory Instructors in relaying technical and safety information to course GTAs.
• Provide technical support for BPSc Students in PHAR 203, 304, and 307 as required.
• Provide technical support and safety oversight for summer student researchers engaging in laboratory research in the summer, as needed.
• Assist Laboratory Instructors in developing and maintaining course syllabi, experiments, and laboratory manuals as well as maintaining up-to-date course information in the University's learning management system (Canvas).
• Assist Laboratory Instructors with testing, validating, optimizing, and troubleshooting new and existing experimental procedures and preparing materials to support the lab courses.
• Assist in housekeeping chores for the teaching labs, including but not limited to, racking pipette tips, refilling containers of microfuge tubes, peroxide safety testing, and maintaining stocks of various cleaning solutions.
• Create and maintain a respectful and inclusive environment.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The BPSc Research Assistant/Technician 2 is expected to work with a great deal of independence, with guidance and oversight provided by the Laboratory Instructors and Laboratory Head. However, it is critical that the work be performed with accuracy and precision. Errors and incorrect decisions may have far-reaching negative effects, with improperly prepared materials resulting in the failure of student experiments. A large portion of students’ grades are based on their ability to achieve the expected results in the lab, and if their starting materials are incorrect, it will be impossible for students to succeed. This type of error may only be detected multiple weeks later when students need to use previously generated materials for their subsequent experiments. In this case, the Laboratory Instructors, and/or technician must carry out tests to locate and confirm the source of the problem, identify all students whose results were affected by the error, notify these students that their results will be disregarded in final grading, and generate new materials so that the students can use these new materials to complete the remainder of the course. Such incidents are very time-consuming and reflect negatively upon the integrity of the course.

Major errors could mean that one or more laboratory periods must be postponed or cancelled. Incorrect operation of some instruments such as centrifuges could lead to massive property damage or death, or extremely costly repairs. An incorrect mixture of solutions could lead to toxic fumes and evacuation of students from the laboratory. Course integrity and continuity demand zero errors of major consequence.

Supervision Received

Works under direction of the Laboratory Instructors with oversight from the Laboratory Head. The BPSc Research Assistant/Technician 2 will receive instructions during orientation, on subsequent new assignments, on changes in procedures, and on unusual problems or matters which are not covered under established SOPs and policies. For each course, descriptions of the laboratory exercises being performed will be provided with general instructions from the instructor regarding the preparation of materials for the labs. The BPSc Research Assistant/Technician 2 will need to work independently on many tasks, and it is expected that familiar duties and responsibilities such as routine cleaning, maintenance, and calibration of equipment be carried out under general supervision with minimal supervision.

Supervision Given
The BPSc Research Assistant/Technician 2 should be able to provide technical assistance to graduate teaching assistants, faculty members and occasionally other staff, students or faculty; with the guidance of the Laboratory Instructors.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation, some additional training in a related field and a minimum two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• An undergraduate (Bachelor’s) degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or similar is strongly preferred. A post-graduate university degree (e.g. MSc) in a relevant discipline (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacology, etc.) is preferred.
• Ability to operate job-related equipment (e.g. autoclaves, incubators, glass washers, thermocyclers, plate readers, gel electrophoresis chambers, gel imagers, etc).
• Ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Ability to be thorough, accurate, and have a high level of attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively use software at a moderate level (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, Workday).
• Ability to read and comprehend technical material.
• Ability to communicate in a clear, attentive, and polite manner, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to maintain high quality records of experimental procedures and preparation timelines.
• Ability to multi-task and work both independently and within a team environment.
• Ability to perform and troubleshoot research techniques such as plasmid preparations, restriction digestions, cloning, PCR, mammalian cell culture, gel electrophoresis, western blotting, recombinant protein production, etc.
• Ability to use aseptic technique prepare and maintain liquid and solid bacterial cultures.
• Ability to prepare stock and working solutions and perform all associated calculations.
• Ability to listen actively and attentively, and acquire clarification as required.
• Ability to deal with a diversity of people in a calm, courteous, and effective manner.
• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and productive working relationships.
• Ability to exercise judgement, discretion, and confidentiality.
• Be willing to maintain and upgrade training.