Scientific Officer

School of Biomedical Sciences
Scientific Officer

The School of Biomedical Sciences (SBS) seeks an experienced Animal Facility Manager to lead its Animal Holding Core (AHC), encompassing Mammalian and Aquatic zones. This critical role ensures safe, efficient, and compliant animal housing and research support through operational leadership, regulatory adherence, user training, and comprehensive facility management.

The appointee will be responsible for

1. Operational Management: acting as the primary contact for AHC and managing facility access, induction processes, and approving entry rights in co-ordination with SBS supervisors

2. Stakeholder Engagement: liaising effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including the Department of Health, Laboratory Animal Services Centre (LASEC), CUHK departments, external institutes, and vendors

3. Regulatory Compliance: ensuring full adherence to animal welfare regulations, including managing animal license support, maintaining precise records, and verifying AEEC registration and Research Ethics Training completion

4. Animal Care & Husbandry: overseeing all day-to-day operations across Mammalian and Aquatic zones and co-ordinating closely with LASEC and SBS staff

5. Facility & Equipment Oversight: managing procurement, inventory, and stock for all essential supplies (equipment, spare parts, PPE, animal bedding, diets, enrichment, consumables) maintaining and ensuring the functionality and safety of critical facility equipment, including steamers, boilers, pressure vessels, and autoclaves, through diligent inventory, maintenance records, servicing, and licensing and overseeing CCTV operations, incident review, and reporting of security breaches or policy violations

6. Research Support & Training: managing specialised research areas, such as the microinjection room and imaging/ metabolic suites (e.g. IVIS SpectrumCT, Promethion) and organising and delivering user training, providing operational support, and calculating usage charges for these specialised facilities and

7. Financial Administration: preparing and processing user charges for facility usage, ensuring accurate billing and record-keeping.

This position requires on-site presence and may involve shift work, occasional after-hours incident response, and manual handling tasks. The role necessitates frequent interaction with researchers, students, vendors, and regulatory bodies.

Applicants should have (i) a PhD in Animal Science, Biology, Veterinary Technology, Laboratory Animal Science, or a closely related discipline (ii) at least 3 to 5 years of demonstrated experience in managing animal facilities or comparable roles in laboratory animal husbandry and operations, of which 1 year must be post-doctoral experience (iii) strong knowledge of animal welfare regulations, Hong Kong-specific licensing procedures, and research ethics training requirements (iv) practical hands-on experience with zebrafish/Xenopus husbandry, rodent care, imaging systems (e.g. IVIS SpectrumCT), Promethion or behavioral equipment, and facility equipment (e.g. autoclaves, boilers) (v) proven expertise in user training, stakeholder liaison, procurement, inventory management, and safety compliance and (vi) excellent communication, organizational, problem-solving, and budget management skills. Professional certification in laboratory animal care/management is preferred.

Interested candidates should submit a comprehensive curriculum vitae, a cover letter detailing relevant experience, and contact details for two professional referees.

Appointment will initially be made on a 2-year contract with contract-end gratuity, renewable subject to good performance and mutual agreement.

The University only accepts and considers applications submitted online for the post above via the CUHK career site. For more information and to apply online, please visit .