Research Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal)
Summary
Please note: There is no pay associated with this position.
This position serves as Without Compensation (WOC) Research Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal) within the Office of Research and Development (ORD). The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
Help
Major Duties:
- Experience performing and/or assisting with laboratory experiments including cell culture and staining of tissue sections.
- Experience independently conducting experiments, data collection, analysis, and interpretation
- Handle mice, maintain mouse breeding colony, collect tissue for genotyping, perform mouse surgical procedures.
- Organize and maintain data records in lab notebooks and in computer spreadsheets, graph and perform statistical analysis on results.
- Present results to Principal Investigator (PI) and other lab members individually and in group settings.
- Operate standard lab equipment such as microscopes, centrifuges, balances, and pH meters.
- Help maintain equipment in good working order.
- Assisting lab members in a variety of laboratory techniques as required/assigned, such as PCR, mouse behavioral testing, or administration of test substances.
- Perfusion fixation of rodents and processing brains for histological examination.
- Helps to evaluate mice health, well-being, and behavior before, during and after research experiments.
Work Schedule: Intermittent (Without Compensation)
Requirements
Help
Conditions of employment
- U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ([click to reveal website link]). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/27/2026.
Individual Occupation Requirements: All qualified applicants must meet this requirement for the WOC- Research Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal), 0404 series.
Specialized Experience: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: managing timeline and deliverables for successful completion of projects, facilitating compliance with all regulatory and administrative requirements, collection of blood samples and tissues, performing routine techniques in the laboratory such as cell culture, design and execution of different project activities, and collecting, analyzing, and storing samples for further analysis.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
Physical Requirements: Walking, bending, stooping, reaching, and lifting is involved in moving animal cages and for routine care and treatment of animals. Persons who are known to have allergies to fur and/or animal dander, should not work in this area.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at [click to reveal website link].
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: [click to reveal website link]. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: [click to reveal website link].
Additional information
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Expand Hide additional information
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.