Biology Technician

What we are looking for

•  Science degree required
•  Experience in slide making a plus. Must be well organized, able to handle multiple projects, and be an effective team player.
• Knowledge of normal/optimal specimen structure and quality – to assess acceptability of specimen as you work – normally partially acquired in college laboratory and lecture courses in biology, partially acquired on the job as a laboratory technician (however, not ALL lab techs are trained in this), may be acquired teaching biology.
• Knowledge of general lab procedures including staining – to be able to troubleshoot problems with procedures as they arise – normally partially acquired in college laboratory and lecture courses in biology, partially on the job as a laboratory technician.
• Ability to analyze a problem to isolate the source of difficulty and fix it – to be able to troubleshoot problems with procedures as they arise – partially acquired in laboratory courses, partially experience in and out of laboratory.
• Knowledge of general laboratory safety and hazardous chemicals – to be able to work in a laboratory without creating hazards to self and others – partially acquired in college courses, most directly in company safety training class, partially on the job.
• Ability to independently plan and organize time – to be able to meet laboratory production goals – partially education, mostly experience in and out of laboratory.
• Ability to follow multi-step procedures accurately – to be able to produce slides – education in these procedures is particularly helpful, partially experience in and out of laboratory.  We use many different procedures; most of them involving more than 20 separate steps where a mistake at any one of them can ruin the product.
• High level of motor skill, manual dexterity, and patience – to be able to produce slides by manipulating very small and delicate tissues – this is learned through extensive experience and requires innate skills.  Some people can never learn to make the more difficult slides.
• Basic computer skills including word processing, familiarity with windows 98 and 2000. Customer service abilities including friendliness, a positive attitude, and phone etiquette

How you will thrive

The Biology technician has responsibility for preparing tissue and sectioning material for the manufacture of educational slides as assigned by the team supervisor. Performance will be assessed based upon both the quality of the finished slide and the efficiency of slide making.

• Control microtome and other technical equipment
• Includes checking section quality throughout process and adjusting as necessary
• Affix specimens to glass
• Must meet technical criteria of placement and orientation
• Stain specimens
• Must follow and adjust all steps to achieve technical criteria of displaying critical structures for teaching.  Quality is checked throughout process
• Permanently mount specimens
• Must be achieved without introducing air.  Quality is checked throughout process
• Investigates and determines how to solve problems in production or quality
• Collaborates with expeditor and Sr. Techs to satisfy acute customer needs
• Plans ways and decides how to satisfy production/quality goals
• Investigate and interpret specimen structure and quality
• (Trial specimens)
• Must determine plane of section, suitability for teaching biology, determine specific usage
• Maintains order and supplies personal lab space and participates in recycling program and maintenance of shared equipment

• Typically works in an office environment with adequate lighting and ventilation and a normal range of temperature and noise level.
• Work assignments are diversified. Examples of past precedent are used to resolve work problems. New alternatives may be developed to resolve problems.
• A frequent volume of work and deadlines impose strain on routine basis.
• Minimal physical effort is required. Work is mostly sedentary but does require walking, standing, bending, reaching, lifting or carrying objects that typically weigh less than 10 lbs.
• The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with a job.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

The expected pre-tax pay for this position is

Actual pay may differ depending on relevant factors such as prior experience and geographic location.

We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at recruiting@avantorsciences.com and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the Know Your Rights poster.

We will use the personal information that you have submitted to us in order to consider your application for the relevant role.
 

Your privacy is important to us. Please click here for our Privacy Policy which explains the purposes for which we will use your personal information and the ways in which we will handle and retain your information. It also explains the rights you have in relation to your information, and how to contact us with any queries or requests.

By submitting candidates without having been formally assigned on and contracted for a specific job requisition by Avantor, or by failing to comply with the Avantor recruitment process, you forfeit any fee on the submitted candidates, regardless of your usual terms and conditions. Avantor works with a preferred supplier list and will take the initiative to engage with recruitment agencies based on its needs and will not be accepting any form of solicitation.