Vivarium Equipment Manager (Finance)

Comparative Medicine serves as an advocate for animals housed at multiple University vivarium sites and implements and administers the NIH/OLAW assured and AAALAC accredited animal care and use program. This position assists the Assistant Director, veterinarians, and other leadership positions and directs vivarium room sterilizations, vivarium equipment sterilizations, vivarium equipment inventories, movements and processing, and vivarium maintenance and housekeeping to ensure compliance with all policies, procedures, federal guidelines, and accreditation requirements, thereby facilitating diverse research interests in multiple vivarium sites.
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This position develops, reviews, analyzes, and makes recommendations regarding program-wide policies and procedures that ensure vivarium and equipment sterility, and facility quality assurances are maintained, and directs their implementation and recordkeeping at multiple vivarium sites in accordance with federal and accreditation standards.
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This position ensures all animals are provided with an unvarying primary and secondary environment avoiding complications of an infectious agent exposure that would jeopardize research data integrity and animal health security. This position monitors animal health surveillances, program service requests, the growth of animal inventories, and the relocation of animals and coordinates staff assignments, the movement of equipment, the movement of animals, the sterilization and maintenance of all vivarium equipment, and the sterilization of multiple vivarium sites.
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This position ensures major fixed equipment (i.e., washers, autoclaves, sterilizers, hydrogen peroxide vapor generators and accelerators) is kept operational, communicates with vendors and vivarium personnel regarding their maintenance and use, and oversees the preventative maintenance and service contracts supporting this equipment. This position supervises all Maintenance Supervisors, who in turn supervise all Maintenance & Repair Workers assigned to multiple vivarium sites.Minimum Qualifications
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Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
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Preferred Qualifications
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Certification by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS) and experience working with washers, autoclaves, sterilizers, hydrogen peroxide vapor generators and accelerators.
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Additional Information for Applicants
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This position requires a Level I background check.
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All Comparative Medicine administration, veterinarian, staff, are essential employees, and animals must be cared for in accordance with federal laws and regulations.Working at USF
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With approximately 16,000 employees, the University of South Florida is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area. We are dedicated to cultivating a talented, engaged and driven workforce that strives to be bold. Employees excel in USF's rich academic environment, which fosters their development and advancement. In 2025, Forbes recognized USF as one of Florida's best large employers, ranked No. 1 among the state's 12 public universities. Our first-class benefits package includes medical, dental and life insurance plans, retirement plan options, employee and dependent tuition programs, generous leave, and hundreds of employee perks and discounts.
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About USF
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The University of South Florida is a top-ranked research university serving approximately 50,000 students from across the globe at campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and USF Health. USF is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 public university and the best value in Florida. U.S. News also ranks the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine as the No. 1 medical school in Florida and in the highest tier nationwide. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group that includes only the top 3% of universities in the U.S. With an all-time high of $738 million in research funding in 2024 and as a top 20 public university for producing U.S. patents, USF uses innovation to transform lives and shape a better future. The university generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. USF's Division I athletics teams compete in the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu .
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Compliance and Federal Notices
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This position may be subject to a Level 1 or Level 2 criminal background check.
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Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws :
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Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
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Applicants for USF employment are entitled to request reasonable accommodation(s) in the application process. A request is to be made at least five (5) working days prior to the time the accommodation(s) is needed. Visit the Central Human Resources ADA Accommodations webpage for more information on requesting an accommodation during the application/interview process.Primary duties and responsibilities for the position include, but are not limited to:
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• Data integrity is invalidated by infectious agent exposures. Effective sterilization of vivarium rooms, caging, and vivarium equipment is essential to animal health security and research data integrity. The Vivarium Equipment Manager is responsible for all aspects and activities of equipment processing and functions in multiple vivarium sites, for vivarium room sterilization, and for cage wash and equipment sterilization operations. Activities managed include the use of vaporized hydrogen peroxide to sterilize all surfaces of vivarium rooms, and steam sterilization of all vivarium equipment. Organization, the confirmation of vivarium room and equipment sterility, adherence to schedules, and teamwork are essential.
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• Develops, reviews, analyzes, and makes recommendations regarding program-wide policies and procedures that ensure vivarium and equipment sterility are maintained, and directs their implementation and recordkeeping at multiple vivarium sites. Develops, implements, performs, trains, and supervises others in standard operating procedures and equipment used to ensure effective sterilization of vivarium rooms, and vivarium equipment and caging. Coordinates and schedules activities with the Maintenance Supervisors and Facility Managers at multiple vivarium sites to ensure implementation and compliance with established written policies and procedures.
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• Directs the preventative maintenance and service program for hydrogen peroxide vaporizers, accelerators, bulk sterilizers, instrument sterilizers, cage wash equipment, individually ventilated animal caging, changing stations, biosafety cabinets, isolators, and the aquatics central life support system. Coordinates vendors' preventative maintenance and repair schedules of all vivarium equipment. Troubleshoots vivarium equipment service interruptions, and communicates with Facility Managers, Maintenance Supervisors, and vendors regarding findings. Ensures the performance of routine equipment maintenance and minor repairs. Ensures logs and records are maintained relating to equipment problems or failures, the corrective action taken, and the resolution achieved.
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• Directs Maintenance Supervisors ensuring caging and equipment inventories are maintained, and inventories of chemicals and other supplies and equipment used in the sanitization and sterilization program are maintained at multiple vivarium sites. Ensures facility housekeeping, repairs, and maintenance are maintained at multiple vivarium sites. Oversees the vivarium warehouse, and the operations and maintenance of multiple vivarium loading docks, and ensures these function in a clean and orderly manner. Oversees the receiving operations at multiple vivarium sites. Tracks property program-wide.
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• Directs the movement of caging, animals, and equipment between multiple vivarium sites. Assists with the care and husbandry needs of numerous laboratory animal species following federal laws and principles, professional standards, and standard operating procedures.
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• This is an essential employee required to work on-site during a hurricane or pandemic, on holidays and weekends, ensuring that animals modeling human diseases about which we know the least are continuing on-study, so that the next intellectual step can be taken, and improved diagnostic and therapeutic care can be provided to human patients.
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• Other duties as assigned.
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