University of Virginia · 10 hours ago
Aquatic Technical Specialist
Charlottesville, VA
Full-time
Onsite
Entry Level
$19/hr - $23/hr
1+ years expThe University of Virginia’s Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) is seeking an Aquatic Technical Specialist who will be responsible for the daily husbandry and care of aquatic species within the facility. The role involves ensuring the operation and maintenance of aquatic life support systems, providing training, and collaborating with investigators to ensure smooth facility operations.
Higher Education
Responsibilities
Perform daily husbandry, colony census and feeding for zebrafish, xenopus, and other aquatic species, ensuring adequate feed supply and type based on life stage
Conduct water quality testing, equipment calibrations (pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen), and system performance audits
Serve as point of contact during system emergencies (system alarms, leaks, power disturbances, etc), including on‑call availability
Operate, monitor, and troubleshoot aquatic life support systems and racks; ensure environmental stability (temperature, photoperiod, alarms); assist with system upgrades and rack installations; and coordinate repairs with vendors and in‑house engineers
Maintain inventory of supplies, equipment, chemicals, and feed; coordinate purchasing to ensure timely stock availability. Prepare and use disinfecting and sanitizing solutions as per SOPs
Conduct daily health checks, triage issues to veterinary staff, and administer veterinary‑directed treatments (e.g., immersion therapies, injections) while maintaining documentation
Support sentinel monitoring, quarantine, imports/exports, disease screening, and colony‑level health audits with proper documentation, while enforcing biosecurity SOPs such as equipment segregation, quarantine entry/exit procedures, and facility traffic patterns
Provide training to investigators, their staff and back up weekend CCM staff on relevant aspects of colony maintenance, aquatic husbandry and specialized techniques to support wild type, mutant and transgenic lines of aquatic animals. Ensure training is captured in the enterprise training documentation system
Create and update standard operating procedures or guidelines in conjunction with IACUC and CCM for all relevant tasks associated with husbandry, experimentation and system maintenance
Ensure the facility operates per institutional (IACUC, IBC and safety) guidelines and adheres to the principles in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Prepare facility for IACUC semiannual inspection and AAALAC site visits
Remains familiar with Center for Comparative Medicine emergency response procedures
Serve as a backup for other facility husbandry needs and execute supervisor‑assigned special projects supporting husbandry, clinical care, and animal welfare
Qualification
Required
High school diploma (or equivalent) or higher
1 plus years of experience working with animals with an understanding of different life support systems, husbandry, nutrition, and associated facilities
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work with people from a wide variety of social and educational backgrounds
Ability to use Microsoft Office suite especially Word, Excel and Outlook
Knowledgeable in AAALAC accreditation standards and principles in the Guide (2011, NRC) as applied to aquatic species
Maintains ability to lift bags or equipment items weighing up to fifty pounds
Company
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 as the model for modern universities that has since been emulated all over the world.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of Virginia has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
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Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Greg Fairchild
Dean and CEO, UVA|Northern Virginia
Luis Alvarez
President and CEO
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