Senior Animal Care Technician (18 month contract)
Description
Company Profile
Genevant is a technology-focused nucleic acid delivery company with world class platforms, the industry’s most robust and expansive lipid nanoparticle (LNP) patent portfolio, and decades of experience and expertise in nucleic acid drug delivery and development. We have laboratories and a key office based in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia.
We leverage our innovative delivery systems and related technologies to help bring new medicines to patients who need them. We do this by selectively collaborating with leading pharma and biotech companies and fostering a culture of innovation that allows us to maintain our leadership position in the space. If you find that inspiring, we want to work with you!
Position Summary
The use of animals for research is a privilege. Research involving animals is carried out only when there are no available alternatives, when the project has demonstrated merit, and only when there is assurance that the animals will be cared for humanely by well-trained professionals.
The Sr. Animal Care Technician reports to the Director, In Vivo Resources and is responsible for the various technical procedures that support the scientific research conducted during the execution of in vivo studies and the general husbandry and care of animals in Genevant’s Core Facility. The normal work schedule for this position will be Saturday-Wednesday and include statutory holidays, as well as vacation or other relief coverage.
Responsibilities:
- Support the scientific research staff in the execution of in vivo studies, by ensuring that studies are conducted according to the protocol. This includes, but is not limited to, interpreting in vivo protocols, scheduling study dates, creating in-life files, gathering resources, and preparing materials necessary to complete the study and data entry.
- Provide technical support for in vivo studies, including, but not limited to:
- Perform routine technical procedures in rodents, such as test article administration via the intravenous, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, and intramuscular routes; animal observations, monitoring and post-procedural care, tissue/blood collection, necropsy and reporting of results.
- Administer, maintain, and monitor anesthetics (gas and injectable) and analgesics.
- Achieve objectives by working with a variety of investigators, groups, and project teams. Provide regular updates as to the status of objectives and studies to the manager and the lead investigator of a project on a regular basis.
- Manage the general husbandry and animal care related functions, while maintaining sanitary animal housing conditions. Daily duties will include, but not be limited to:
- Animal health checks.
- Cage preparation.
- Receiving and unpacking animal orders.
- Cage changing and cage processing.
- Organization and distribution of supplies to the various areas of the Core Facility.
- Ensure that animal rooms are maintained and sanitized as well as carrying out appropriate decontamination procedures.
- Ensure the overall cleanliness and operating efficiency of the Core Facility.
- Operate animal care processing equipment, detect and report malfunctioning or defective equipment. Including general facility environmental checks, such as lighting, temperature, and humidity controls.
- Perform other facility-related tasks, such as, but not limited to – surgical instrument preparation, record keeping, inventory maintenance (such as, but not limited to – ordering and stocking facility supplies), document review, and database maintenance.
- Maintain animal data and participate in a supporting role during the execution of in vivo studies.
- Provide training to any junior employees or co-op students regarding general husbandry, facility-related procedures and animal-related procedures/techniques as needed.
- Participation in various committees and meetings.
- Perform additional other duties as assigned within the scope of responsibilities.
Requirements, Knowledge, skills, and abilities:
- A Diploma in Animal Care or Animal Health Technology and/or minimum of 2.5 years post-graduate experience working with animals. CALAS certification at the ARLAT level or above is desirable.
- This position requires a high level of motivation, organization and initiative, and a proven ability to work cooperatively as well as independently.
- Ability to effectively manage timelines and prioritize work, while maintaining flexibility
- Excellent record keeping and attention to detail are essential.
- A working knowledge of animal related standards, CCAC guidelines and federal, provincial and local requirements is preferred, but not required.
- The successful candidate must have a compassion and sensitivity for animals, strong interpersonal skills, excellent communication skills and the ability to interact positively with other team members
- This position will require flexibility to accommodate shifted work schedules that may involve evenings, weekends and holiday work.
Compensation and Benefits
We’ve worked to create an environment at Genevant that makes our people feel empowered, supported and appreciated so they can focus on doing incredible work that can change the future. To that end, we offer competitive salaries, as well as a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, life and AD&D insurance, and annual company shutdown!
The base salary range for this position is $70,000-$90,000 excluding benefits. The base salary is determined by various factors, but not limited to, education, qualifications, experience, and internal equity. The salary offered may be higher or lower than the posted range, depending on the candidate’s qualifications and other factors.
Genevant is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds.