Laboratory Assistant I

Hiring organization: Charles River Laboratories

Job posted: 2026-09-08

Valid through: 2036-09-08

Locations:

United States - Horsham

Experience requirements: Less than 2 years

Education requirements: High School/GED

Description:

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

Perform basic laboratory and record-keeping tasks. Support the functions of the animal care group.

Job Description

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Assist in preparing for animal arrivals. This may include preparing cages (attaching water lines, feed jars, cage tag holders), ensuring sippers work, ensuring cages are appropriate for species being housed and placing cage tags on the holders.
Assist in the archiving of non-study/study/ facility data (ex log sheets, cage wash forms, etc).
Assist animal care staff with clerical duties (e.g., filing, making copies, etc.).
May be responsible for preparing simple lab solutions (e.g., buffers, media/common vehicles, bleach, and eye wash solution).
Monitor and maintain inventory of assigned areas (e.g. PPE Stations, Haz waste boxes, etc).
Operate basic lab equipment and perform routine maintenance as needed.
Perform all tasks in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice Regulations (GLPs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Perform basic husbandry duties such as liner changes or setting up cages.
Perform limited troubleshooting and calibration of instruments as appropriate for assigned area.
Submit Work Orders for equipment or facility issues.
Prep autoclave cages and may sterilize glassware and other items using an autoclave.
Perform Pest Control checks of areas and document as per SOP.
Assist with the receipt and documentation of feed and bedding.
Perform weekly eye wash checks and document.
Assist in the breakdown and setup of study rooms.
Clean and sanitize hallways and labs.
Perform weekly census of animals.
Ensure logs and forms are properly and completely filled out.
Collaborate with Animal Care and In-Life technical staff.
Perform all other related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: High school diploma or General Education Degree (G.E.D.).
Experience: None
Certification/Licensure: None
Other: Must be detail-oriented and have general familiarity with lab procedures. Good verbal communication skills required. Basic computer skills; familiarity with Microsoft Office software.

The pay for this position is $18.00/hour. Please note that salaries vary within the range based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, certifications, and location.

Education

No degree required

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 crrecruitment_US@crl.com. This contact is for accommodation requests for individuals with disabilities only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

For more information, please visit www.criver.com.

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