Research Technician

Charles River Laboratories, Inc.; Horsham (PA); On-site; USD 37,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus incentives

401K

Paid time off

Stock purchase program

Health and wellness coverage

Work life balance

Job summary

Charles River Laboratories, Inc. is seeking a lead/primary technician to perform technical duties and data collection for animal studies. The role includes supervising staff, administering test substances, and improving SOPs while ensuring animal welfare across multiple species.

You will participate in training, protocol reviews, and collaboration with scientific staff to develop new techniques. Strong attention to GLP standards is required.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; Bachelor's degree preferred in a biological science.
• 2+ years of related experience in animal science or similar lab environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as lead/primary technician on routine and complex study types and one specialized study.
• Administer test substances by various methods, including neonatal certification.
• Perform in-life technical procedures (weight, dosing, handling) and collect/record data.
• Care for laboratory animals and maintain proper welfare.
• Read study protocols, assist in protocol refinement, and train staff.

Skills

Animal handling

Data recording

Mentoring others

Study protocol review

Education

High school diploma or GED

Bachelor’s degree in biological science preferred

Job description

At Charles River, we are passionate about improving the quality of people’s lives. When you join our global family, you will help create healthier lives for millions of patients and their families.

Charles River employees are innovative thinkers, who are dedicated to continuous learning and improvement. We will empower you with the resources you need to grow and develop in your career.

As a Charles River employee, you will be part of an industry-leading, customer-focused company at the forefront of drug development. Your skills will play a key role in bringing life-saving therapies to market faster through simpler, quicker, and more digitalized processes. Whether you are in lab operations, finance, IT, sales, or another area, when you work at Charles River, you will be the difference every day for patients across the globe.

Job Overview

Serve as the lead/primary technician and perform technical duties, administer test substances, and collect and record data on any type of animal study with a focus on complex/specialized designs. Provide technical guidance and serve as a mentor to less experienced staff. Contribute to department operations improvement in areas such as process development/improvement, SOP revisions, and department inspections.

Job Description

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serve as lead/primary technician on all routine and complex study types in addition to at least one type of specialized study (e.g., continuous infusion, immunology, reproductive, ocular).
• Administer test substances by various basic, intermediate, and advanced methods, including neo-natal certification.
• Perform in-life technical procedures (e.g., handling, body weight, dosing, bleeding on rats, mice, rabbits, Guinea pigs, hamsters).
• Handle, restrain, and provide care for all species of laboratory animals at the stie.
• Collect and record research data and biological specimens in compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs) regulations, study protocols and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with minimal study/protocol deviations.
• Perform Behavior tests (water maze, passive avoidance, etc.) including set-up and data review.
• Read and review study protocols and extract pertinent study information. Assist with review of complex and specialized study type protocols. Provide feedback and refinement of protocols.
• Assist with reviewing and updating processes and SOPs as assigned.
• Assist in training personnel in specialized techniques.
• Work with scientific staff to develop new techniques and/or models.
• Embrace and drive change by advocating department and site visions and goals.

The pay range for this position is between $27.00 and $34.00 an hour. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: High school diploma or General Education Degree (G.E.D.) required. Bachelor’s degree (B.A./B.S.) or equivalent in a biological science preferred.
• Experience: 2+ years related experience in animal science, biology, chemistry/pharmacy, or similar lab environment required.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.
• Other: Placement at this level requires successful completion/competency of the required tasks of the position preceding this level and continued ability to perform those tasks are required. Must be able to perform effectively as a team member, accurately record data, follow verbal and written instructions, maintain a positive work atmosphere, communicate effectively, and interact in a professional manner with management, coworkers, and sponsors.

Education

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 120 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.

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.
If you are interested in applying to Charles River Laboratories and need special assistance or an accommodation due to a disability to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the resume submission process, please contact a member of our Human Resources team by sending an e‑mail message to [e-mail]. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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

Nearest Major Market: Philadelphia
Job Segment: Pharmaceutical, Laboratory, Biology, Biotech, Science, Research