Assistant Technician

For 75 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform.

In return, we’ll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.

The Biosciences division currently has an exciting career opportunity for an Assistant Technician 1 to join our Bio Sciences Lab Services group.

The successful candidate will work within the team which provides support across a variety of operational areas to the pharmaceutical, veterinary pharmaceutical and chemical/agrochemical industries by evaluating the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of new chemical and biological entities in a variety of test systems (animals, plants and soils).

You will be required to take responsibility for the following activities (for which full training will be given):

• Provide laboratory support to Study Directors in the day to day running of studies.
• Horticultural tasks include growing and monitoring plants, crop maintenance, implementing fertiliser and pest prevention regimes, and assisting with horticultural aspects of the scientific research.
• Provide assistance with study set-up, animal, soil and water sample collection and data generation.
• Conduct laboratory work in accordance with Standard Operating Procedures and the principles of Good Laboratory Practice.
• Undertake routine tasks of laboratory and equipment maintenance as may be delegated.
• Ensuring that a safe working environment is maintained by observing all safety procedures and working methods and by making proper use of protective clothing and equipment.

The following are minimum requirements related to the Assistant Technician 1 position:

• National 5 qualifications (Assistant Technician) or HNC (or higher) or relevant on-job experience (Technician)
• A positive and constructive approach to working in a busy laboratory environment and the ability to pay close attention to detail is essential.
• Good level of computer literacy for Microsoft word and excel.

Salary will be £24,557.62 per annum.

The closing date is 06 August 2026.

Performs technical laboratory activities in support of client studies or procedures. Performs analysis of data for quality and completeness and determines if results are as expected. Records data in compliance with company and regulatory policies and standards to meet quality and accuracy requirements. Executes scientific testing strategies and studies. May participate in development as part of team. May lead assay research, assay validation or study conduct, or is involved in preparation of material (e.g. protein, nucleic acid, cells, etc.).

Reviews and interprets study data, communicates results to clients and writes final reports. Ensures compliance with protocols and all applicable SOPs. Troubleshoots and resolves assay or technical issues in the laboratory when scientific expertise is needed. Contributes to specific dataset interpretation, or when appropriate answering questions from regulatory authorities. For singular focus of Chemistry or Biology disciplines, refer to specified role on job architecture.

No degree required

Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market.

Each year approximately 300 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.

Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients’ clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities.

Utilising this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.

With over 20,000 employees within 110 facilities in over 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client’s unique…