Rodent Breeding Program Supervisor

The Division of Laboratory Animal Resources (DLAR) Rodent Breeding Program Supervisor provides strategic and operational oversight of DLAR’s rodent breeding program. This role is responsible for ensuring the successful delivery, growth, and sustainability of rodent breeding services to the research community. The position manages program operations, personnel, financial performance, and customer engagement, while maintaining compliance with institutional and regulatory standards. Responsibilities include:
• Direct and oversee all aspects of the rodent breeding program, ensuring efficient, high-quality service delivery,
• Develop and implement strategies to expand program utilization and align services with institutional research needs,
• Establish and maintain relationships with investigators to understand research needs, align breeding strategies accordingly, and develop service agreements,
• Produce reports on program performance, including utilization, productivity, financial metrics, and service gaps, and identify opportunities for improvement,
• Provide direct supervision of breeding program’s coordinators and animal care technicians, including monitoring performance, and provide coaching, training, and professional development.
• Work closely with the DLAR Facility Supervisors to schedule routine husbandry care of the animals,
• Maintain working knowledge of colony management practices, including breeding setup, weaning, genotyping workflows, and data tracking systems, and oversee breeding strategies, colony structure, and productivity management,
• Provide operational support and perform hands-on duties including but not limited to rodent cage changes, feeding, watering, health checks and clinical treatments, and
• Liaise closely with veterinary services to ensure high standards of health and welfare for the breeding program.

The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of mouse genetics, transgenic/knockout colonies, and genotyping techniques, leadership and personnel management skills, excellent organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities, effective written and verbal communication skill and proficiency with colony management and data tracking systems. The preferred candidate will have at least three years breeding colony management and supervisory experience, experience with program development, and experience working under IACUC oversight in an AAALAC-accredited program.

The position requires ability pass criminal and social background checks, possibly, travel between DLAR facilities, and successfully enroll in the University of Pittsburgh Animal Exposure Surveillance Program, and other medical surveillance/immunization programs,as dictated by the current research activities.

Vaccination and/or TB testing may berequired.

Plans, oversees, and assesses projects, reports, presentations, milestone deliverables, and events. Supervises team and conducts projects meetings and correspondences. Coordinates the operation of facilities and assists with prioritization of resources to meet project needs.

The employee must be able to:
• Read, understand, and follow DLAR and other institutional guidance documents (SOPs, policies), including IACUC approved animal protocols,
• Maintain accurate, complete, and timely documentation to ensure reliable tracking, reporting, and consistent execution of service agreements,
• Have sufficient visual acuity, manual dexterity, and attention to detail to recognize and identify normal and abnormal species-specific clinical appearances and behavior patterns, perform technical procedures (ex: animal identification methods), safely handle and restrain animals, and operate and maintain facility equipment and supplies,
• Negotiate around equipment within close quarters, and move between rooms, workspaces,and facilities,
• Wear facility specific personal protective equipment (PPE) required by the job duties based on risk assessment from EH&S,
• Work directly with live or dead animals, and clean or soiled bedding andcaging,
• Receive vaccinations and health assessments, including TB testing,requiredto work in some animal holding or procedure areas,in accordance withDLAR and/or EH&S policies andpractices,
• Successfully enroll in the University of Pittsburgh Animal Exposure Surveillance Program (AESP) and other medical surveillance/immunization programs,
• Accuratelyand effectively communicate in English, verbally and in writing,
• Performcomputer skills including the ability toutilizecommon applications (e.g., email, Word, Excel) and DLAR systems (ex: CAMs), and genotype management systems,
• Follow written and verbal instructions,
• Euthanize animals under the guidance of a veterinarian.

The employee must be able to:
• Stand for extended periods of time throughout the majority of the workday,
• Lift and move objects weighing up to 50 pounds including but not limited to caging and equipment, bags or boxes of animal diet and animal bedding, and operate flatbed hand trucks or pallet jacks to move heavier objects or weights exceeding 50 pounds,
• Perform repetitive motion tasks that involve pushing, pulling, reaching, and/or bending, and
• Physically handle and restrain laboratory animals.