Biology Lab Technician, School of Sciences and Humanities

Job Description

Wentworth Institute of Technology is a collaborative, mission-driven community of educators and professionals committed to excellence in ourselves and in the students we teach and support. As an equal-opportunity employer, we are committed to continuing to develop a richly diverse faculty, staff, and student body.

Position Overview

Reporting to the Lab Manager, the Biology Lab Technician is responsible for supporting the biology and science classes within the School of Sciences and Humanities. This critical role supports the operations within each lab area to ensure lab safety and maintenance. The Lab Technician will be responsible for Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) protocols, such as overseeing lab safety guidelines, and protective equipment rules. They will work with faculty teaching the biology and science courses to ensure that the laboratory activities are prepared as the faculty desires with the necessary support. This person may also work with physics faculty and students on their research projects, if needed.

There are 4 multi-section biology courses that require significant support and are taught every semester, and sometimes in the summer. These include:

· BIOL 1000- General Biology - General introduction to biology used as a general science elective for non-science and non-biological engineering students.

· BIOL 1100- Cell and Molecular Biology-A biology course covering basics in cell and molecular biology for biological engineering, applied science and biomedical engineering students.

· BIOL 1700 & 1750- Anatomy and Physiology I and II- A two semester sequence for biomedical engineering students.

· Other classes in biology and science will also need support for the labs like Advanced Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Environmental Science.

Essential Job Functions

• Collect and prepare equipment and chemical, biological and dry-lab material at bench or in room for students as required by student protocols or faculty requests, including but not limited to cultures, aliquots, plates, equipment setup, and standards preparation;

• Adapt labs as needed, which may include testing, recording, and writing up changes;

• Track material needs for courses;

• Train faculty on lab equipment and procedures, if needed;

• Purchase materials and produce expense reports for lab-relevant materials;

• Manage budget expenditures and research materials;

• Supervise department student employees (co-ops and work study), when applicable;

• Support the execution of the lab by assisting the instructor with technique, equipment, and student questions;

• Maintain an up-to-date chemical and biohazard inventory following EH&S storage requirements where SDS information is accessible to the public;

• Support collaboration across disciplines and schools on essential job duties as needed.

• Ensure faculty, students, and staff (including all student employees) using a laboratory are aware of and following proper lab safety procedures and safety responses;

• Maintain records of signed student lab safety agreement sheets;

• Maintain optimal laboratory conditions—cleanliness, basic expected supplies, laser safety, hazardous waste disposal in communication with Environmental Health & Safety staff;

• Enact emergency responses as needed for safety incidents, or any incidents in which the lab technician is the direct reporter on the scene;

• Enforce of safety regulations according to EH&S guidelines alongside lab staff;

• Work with the lab manager and other lab team members on incident reports, safety sheet filing, team-applicable safety responses, risk assessments, and safety reviews, and support basic WIT safety procedures alongside the EH&S team.

Additional Job Functions

• Troubleshoot safe alternatives for lab materials alongside the instructor of record, lab staff, and Environmental Health & Safety team;

• Support faculty, research and capstone students on a variety of lab-related and research activities.

Minimum Requirements (education, experience, skills):

• Bachelor’s degree in biology, chemistry or a related field;

• Familiarity with standard lab safety guidelines.

• Working knowledge of concepts, practices, procedures in biology, and the ability to use them in varied situations.

• 1 – 3 years of experience in a teaching laboratory space, preferably in biology.

Preferred Qualifications (additional credentials, licensure, experience, skills):

• Familiarity with preparing a lab procedure to be implemented for multiple groups of students.

· Interaction with faculty at an institution of higher education- ideally in the area of biology or chemistry.

Key Com