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

The Cagewash Technician I  will maintain the sanitation of cages and supplies to ensure animal welfare and regulatory compliance. This role includes keeping the Cage Wash area organized and ensuring that all equipment is functioning properly to maintain productivity and safety standards. 

Training schedule: Monday - Friday, 6:00am-2:30pm

Permanent schedule: Sunday - Thursday or Tuesday - Saturday, 5:45am - 2:15pm

Overtime may be required including weekends, and extended shifts as required to meet operational demands. Must be flexible and available to work holidays (on rotational basis) and overtime as needed.

The pay for this position is $17.75 per hour.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Transports cages using a two-person procedure
• Performs cage rack preparation, prepares cage racks according to the Standard Operating Procedures to run through the automated cage wash machine
• Operate automated Cage Wash Machine according to Rack Washer Operation Instructions
• Load & Unload automated Cage Wash Machine
• Perform daily routine maintenance checks on the automated cage wash machines
• Record all required tasks on relevant logbook records accurately and completely
• Prioritize and prepare caging for receipt of new animals
• Test functionality of all moving parts on each cage rack
• Report the need for equipment repair (cages, racks, cage wash machines, etc.) to the appropriate personnel
• Storage of enrichment devices by type, Sort devices(toys) for functionally and need for replacement
• Organize, clean and maintain cage wash area
• Replenish cleaning chemicals as needed
• Ensure equipment and compressor is properly clean and put away at the end of the day
• ·Sanitize floors, walls, and other surfaces in the automatic cage wash areas 
• May assist with Animal Care sanitation tasks such as changing cage and sanitizing animal room walls and floors
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor

QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or G.E.D. preferred
• 1 year experience in a physically demanding role
• Experience working in lab animal vivarium preferred 
• Experience working in an environment requiring compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and maintaining records, strongly preferred
• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English
• Ability to follow verbal and written instructions, and complete required documentation
• Ability to work independently and as a team member with good interpersonal skills

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk, stoop, crouch or kneel, and bend for extended periods of time; use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee is occasionally required to talk and hear.
• The employee must be able to regularly lift, hold and/or move up to 50 pounds; this includes equipment and animals
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee regularly wears protective clothing (goggles, face shield, surgical mask, cap, gloves, scrubs, boots); works with biohazards; and works with live animals (small, medium and/or large) with risk of exposure to allergens and/or zoonotic diseases.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to fumes or airborne particles, unpleasant odors, and wet, humid and/or extreme temperature conditions.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• The physicality of the duties, personal protective equipment (PPE), spraying water, and climate/temperature appropriate for the animals when combined frequently cause employees to become hot and sweaty.

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 300 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 supported the development of 86% of the drugs approved by the FDA in 2021.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River Laboratories is an Equal Opportunity Employer - all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

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 [email protected]. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

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