Lab Animal Behavioral Technician I (Habituation Technician)

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

We are seeking a motivated and compassionate Lab Animal Behavioral Technician I (Habituation Technician) to join our Veterinary Services team. In this role, you will support animal behavioral management programs by assisting with acclimation, enrichment, and conditioning activities that help prepare animals for study procedures. This position is ideal for individuals with animal care, husbandry, veterinary, or life sciences experience who are passionate about promoting animal welfare and providing high-quality care.

Key Responsibilities

• Handle animals and assist with acclimation programs that prepare animals for study procedures.
• Support behavioral management initiatives through basic operant conditioning techniques.
• Maintain, track, and review data related to acclimation and enrichment programs.
• Maintain accurate documentation and records related to behavioral management programs.
• Receive, label, store, and organize food and enrichment supplies.
• Assist with food preparation and enrichment inventory management.
• Provide appropriate environmental and social enrichment opportunities for animals.
• Build, maintain, and evaluate enrichment devices.
• Collaborate with veterinary, animal care, and other laboratory medicine teams to ensure animal welfare standards are met.

Job Qualifications

Qualifications

Required:

• High school diploma or GED plus 1 year of relevant experience, or
• Associate degree in Animal Science, Life Sciences, or a related field.
• Experience working with animals in a research, husbandry, veterinary, shelter, kennel, or similar environment.
• Ability to safely handle common laboratory animal species.
• Strong organizational and recordkeeping skills.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Animal Science, Life Sciences, or a related discipline.
• Multi-species animal care experience.
• AALAS ALAT certification.
• Knowledge of laboratory animal care standards, protocols, and regulatory requirements. 

Physical Requirements

This position is based in a research and animal care environment. Employees may work around laboratory equipment, animal allergens, biological materials, and varying noise levels. Safety equipment and training are provided. 

• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs regularly.
• Ability to push wheeled carts weighing up to 1,200 lbs.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods throughout an 8-hour shift.
• Comfortable working in animal care and research environments.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE). 

The pay rate for this position is $19/hour. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

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.

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.

 
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 View email address on us.fitly.work. 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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