Science Lab Technician Jobs

About Durham College

Durham College (DC) is leading the way as a post-secondary institution, offering an innovative and transformative student experience and hands-on learning opportunities. With this focus top of mind for our students and our employees, DC is proud to be one of the fastest-growing colleges in the province and annually ranked as one of the GTA’s Top 100 employers.

The college offers a wide range of market-driven programs across multiple disciplines, including culinary management, farming and horticulture, business, IT, construction and trades, science and technology, health care, engineering, social and community services, justice, media, art and design.

With a focus on experiential learning, DC graduates are known for having the skills and knowledge employers need. More than 104,000 alumni represent the college, both locally and around the world.

Serving the Durham Region and Northumberland County communities for over 50 years, with campuses in Oshawa and Whitby, the college offers over 12,500 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 145 full-time post-secondary programs – including four honours bachelor degrees and nine apprenticeship programs. Led by over 1,860 full- and part-time staff, DC has an estimated annual economic impact of more than $913 million on Durham Region.

Duties And Responsibilities

The Science Laboratory Technician supports preparation, maintenance, and resource allocation for the laboratories in the Science cluster of programs. This role will work closely with colleagues to ensure these labs are ready for course delivery across a range of science programs and so that students have the best expectation for success.

The incumbent will assist the Instrumentation and Science Laboratory Technologist:

• With routine checks on basic benchtop equipment (hotplates, pH meters, balances, etc.);
• In preparing reagents and equipment for teaching laboratories;
• With inventory control; and
• Weekly laboratory safety checks.

The incumbent will assist the Science Laboratory Technologist in the following tasks:

• Preparing media
• Disinfecting biohazardous waste

They will also oversee students enrolled in microbiology laboratory courses to ensure a safe working environment. They will perform necessary housekeeping duties in a timely manner, keeping the work areas and equipment clean and sanitized. They will adhere to all chemical and biological safety policies, ensuring students are safely disposing contaminated material on the decontamination bench. In addition, they will adhere to the department Biosecurity plan by ensuring the laboratory is locked before leaving and that nothing is removed from the laboratory. They will maintain a thorough working knowledge of all relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs), the biosafety manual and pathogen safety data sheets.

Qualifications

• Strong analytical and aseptic technique, detail-oriented and strong time management skills and ability to balance competing priorities.
• Laboratory safety and good laboratory practices (GLP) skills.
• Understanding of microbiological terminology, standard microbiological laboratory practices and a solid understanding of aseptic techniques.
• Ability to follow SOPs and preparation directions.
• Experience with chemical reagent preparation and media preparation.
• Experience with handling and disposing of biohazardous materials (BSL-2 organisms) and experience with labelling, handling, identifying, and disposing of hazardous chemicals (acids, bases, solvents, etc.).
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office to create and format documents and spreadsheets and ability to learn and adapt to new software as the need arises.
• A minimum of a 3-year diploma or degree in Biotechnology, Microbiology, Chemistry or Biology-related studies.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience working in an analytical laboratory and/or in a biosafety level 2 laboratory.

Required Skills

Hours: 24 hours per week/ Hourly rate: $26.50hr.

Required Experience

Please apply below by submitting your cover letter and resume to the online portal. Applications will be accepted until August 8th 2023. Competition number SP23-26.