What are the responsibilities and job description for the Laboratory Technician I position at City of Virginia Beach?
The Water Quality Lab Technician I will be part of a dynamic team that is responsible for testing the parameters of the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center's
800,000 gallon aquatic systems and source water. In addition to the standard duties associated with those tests, technicians in the Aquarium water quality lab have the unique experience of being part of a working exhibit. As such, the lab is open 7 days a week and is visible to the public.
Duties include the following:
- Perform a variety of analytical services to ensure the health and safety of Aquarium inhabitants.
- Perform a variety of regulatory analyses to produce data for submittal to regulatory agencies monitoring the health of marine mammals housed at the Aquarium.
- Perform a variety of analytical services on permitted environmental samples to produce level I, II, and III data for submittal to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
- Assist in the collection of environmental samples and training of Citizen Scientists to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures.
- Follow approved methods and standard operating procedures in all daily analytical tasks.
- Uphold the highest level of QA/QC practices in the laboratory to include: equipment calibration, meticulous record-keeping, regular temperature logs, sterilization of microbiological equipment, proficiency testing, demonstrations of capability, etc.
- Assist in training of part-time laboratory staff, volunteers, and interns.
- Assist with yearly reviews of standard operating procedures, Quality Assurance Project Plan, and safety data sheets.
- Interact with guests, with a focus on a positive personal guest experience and provide them with information about lab operations and water quality.
- Perform other job duties requiring skills, knowledge, and physical requirements as demanded by those duties described or less. Individual assignments will be determined by the supervisor based on then current workloads and department needs.
