Animal Care Technician I (50)

Charles River Laboratories; Bethesda (MD); On-site; USD 28,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

Charles River Insourcing Solutions in Bethesda, MD seeks an Animal Care Technician I to join our team. This entry-level role supports daily animal care, health checks, feeding, and handling for multiple species, with opportunities to pursue ALAT certification within 1–2 years.

The position runs Monday–Friday, with some weekends/holidays as needed, and pays $22/hour. Excellent benefits and a collaborative environment are offered.

Qualifications

• Six months of animal experience (e.g., dog walking, pet sitting, kennel attendant, vet assistant, farm hand, 4-H background, pet store worker)
• Must be successful in obtaining the ALAT (Assistant Lab Animal Technician) Certification within 1-2 years of eligibility
• High school diploma/GED preferred

Responsibilities

• Providing food & water.
• Ensuring cages are clean.
• Performing and recording daily animal health checks.
• Handing & restraining animals for injections.
• Learning & applying quality assurance standards.
• Examining new animals that arrive at the site & helping them to settle in.
• Learn & become involved in breeding of multiple animal species.

Skills

Animal handling

Safety awareness

Team collaboration

Education

High school diploma/GED

ALAT certification planned

Job description

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

We are seeking an Animal Care Technician I to join our Insourcing Solutions team located in Bethesda, MD.

Additional Responsibilities Include

• Providing food & water.
• Ensuring cages are clean.
• Performing and recording daily animal health checks.
• Handing & restraining animals for injections.
• Learning & applying quality assurance standards.
• Examining new animals that arrive at the site & helping them to settle in.
• Learn & become involved in breeding of multiple animal species.

Job Qualifications

• Six months of animal experience (e.g., dog walking, pet sitting, kennel attendant, vet assistant, farm hand, 4-H background, pet store worker)
• Must be successful in obtaining the ALAT (Assistant Lab Animal Technician) Certification within 1-2 years of eligibility
• High school diploma/GED preferred

The pay for this position is 22/hour USD per hour. The schedule for this position is Monday through Friday 7AM-3:30PM. You must be available some weekend and holidays if necessary.

About Insourcing Solutions

Charles River Insourcing Solutions can streamline research by delivering operational and cost efficiencies through the strategic insourcing of GMP, GLP and non-GLP research services from discovery through safety assessment. Insourcing Solutions provides you with the ability to maintain control of your facility and expertise while leveraging available space.

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.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, family status, pregnancy, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

It is unlawful in some states (including Massachusetts) to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

For more information, please visit www.criver.com.