Technical Assistant I (Animal Care)

University of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst (MA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Massachusetts Amherst is seeking a Technical Assistant I to support animal care in a laboratory setting. The role emphasizes maintaining a clean, safe environment for laboratory animals and observing their health and welfare under supervision.

Primary duties include daily husbandry, record keeping, and assistance with routine medications, with opportunities to work in ABSL-2/3 contexts as needed and to supervise student assistants.

Qualifications

• High School diploma or GED required.
• Four (4) years of full-time relevant experience in animal care or research environments preferred.
• ALAT certification may substitute for experience per AALAS guidance.

Responsibilities

• Observe and report animal health and environmental conditions daily.
• Perform animal husbandry tasks: feeding, watering, cage cleaning.
• Sanitize animal rooms and related facilities regularly.
• Handle restraint and gender determination of common lab animals.
• Maintain animal room records: census, sanitation, feed, enrichment and identification.
• Assist veterinary staff with routine medications and care as directed.

Skills

Animal care

Record keeping

Basic computing

Education

High School diploma or GED

Job description

Title

Technical Assistant I (Animal Care)

Executive Area

Research and Engagement

College/School/MBU

Central Research Support

Department

Animal Care Services

Work Location

Amherst

Schedule

Full Time

Work Arrangement

Onsite

Job Summary

Under the direct supervision of the Animal Care Managers, performs a variety of duties related to the care of laboratory animals. Primary responsibilities are to maintain a clean and healthy environment for laboratory animals and observe animals for their general health and wellbeing.

Essential Functions

• Independently observes, records, and reports atypical findings of the environment, maintenance activities of physical plant, and animal health or behavior. These observations are to include but are not limited to sick animals, maintenance problems, safety hazards, mistreatment or inappropriate treatment of animals.
• Performs animal husbandry duties; e.g., feeding, watering, cage/pen cleaning.
• Sanitizes animal rooms, animal procedure rooms, animal corridors, cage-wash rooms, animal morgue refrigerator, and necropsy room.
• Handles restraint and sexing of laboratory animals.
• Maintains animal room records; e.g., census, sanitation, enrichment, feeding, and cage card animal identification.
• Prepares and distributes routine medications as directed by veterinary staff; e.g., medicated drinking water or feed.
• Sanitizes all animal care equipment.
• Operates and performs routine maintenance on rack washers, autoclaves, animal waste removal systems and, and bio-safety cabinets / clean bench hoods.
• Maintains validation records of cage-washer efficiencies and room maintenance records of assigned areas.
• Keeps assigned work areas stocked with supplies needed for routine operation of the area.
• Removes and disposes of waste.
• Works with Animal Biosafety Level-2 & ABSL-3 practices, including changing animals in a biosafety cabinet and special handling of bedding including packaging it for incineration.
• Provides general technical assistance to supervisor or investigators.
• Operates a University of Massachusetts-owned or authorized motor vehicle to travel between assigned work sites to perform animal care and related operational duties.
• Functionally supervises student employees.

Other Functions

• Performs other tasks as directed by the Supervisor of Animal Care.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School diploma or G.E.D.
• Four (4) years of full-time relevant experience (e.g., husbandry or research experiences with rodents and/or other research animal species, experience with daily care and observation of small mammals, birds etc. at a pet store or zoo, etc.). Certification as an Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) may be substituted in lieu of experience.
• Experience working with common laboratory animals.
• Valid Class D State Driver’s License.
• Ability to provide care for laboratory animals in a safe and sanitary manner, using the necessary equipment and under the established institutional operating procedures.
• Ability to handle, restrain, and determine the gender of all common laboratory animals without injuring the animals or endangering oneself or others.
• Knowledge of universal identification systems used for marking laboratory animals and ability to keep accurate records pertaining to this identification.
• Knowledge concerning personal hygiene and personal safety with regard to hazardous substances; to be aware of proper institutional sanitation procedures, handling of equipment and chemicals used to clean, disinfect, and sterilize.
• Ability to functionally supervise work study students effectively and to schedule the workload in an efficient and productive manner.
• Basic to intermediate computing skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of or experience working with ABSL-2 and ABSL-3.

Additional Details

This position is considered Essential Personnel. Essential personnel are expected to report to work in the event of an emergency closing of the UMass Amherst campus, including delayed openings and early closings. Employees designated as essential personnel and who report to work during emergency closure periods will be compensated in accordance with their respective collective bargaining agreements. Employees designated as essential personnel and who do not report to work during emergency closure periods will be required to use accrued time.

Must be able to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Minimum required PPE; scrubs, exam gloves, head cover, dust mask, shoe covers. Additional PPE; e.g., safety glasses, face shield, jump suit, respirator may be required for some areas.

Showering May Be Required.

Working Conditions

Work is performed in a laboratory or healthcare setting and may involve exposure to chemicals or infectious diseases. Requires standing for extended periods of time and/or use of protective gear.

Work Schedule and Work Arrangement

7:00am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday.

Participates in rotating on-call coverage and rotating weekend, holiday, and campus closure coverage schedules. May be required to respond to operational needs outside regular business hours.

Salary Information

Pay Grade: USA/MTA Grade 12

Click here to view the Classified Step Scale

This position will remain open for the time period required by any applicable collective bargaining agreement and will continue until a suitable candidate pool is identified. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early.