Veterinarian/Anesthesiologist

Your tasks

About the Role We're seeking a veterinarian with deep large-animal anesthesia experience to lead clinical care in our large animal vivarium. You'll be the founding veterinary lead of a small team that runs day-to-day vivarium operations. The team supports our organ preservation program, which is mostly organ procurement and perfusion studies plus survival surgeries. You'll own anesthesia and animal welfare across every procedure, and you'll help build the facility's SOPs, training program, and regulatory compliance from the ground up.

This role sits at the intersection of veterinary medicine and a fast-moving research program. The anesthesia you deliver directly shapes organ quality at procurement and pace of scientific progress.

What You'd Do

• Plan and deliver general anesthesia for large animal models undergoing organ procurement, long-duration perfusion procedures, and survival surgeries. This includes induction, intubation, mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring, and fluid and pharmacological support.
• Provide clinical veterinary oversight for all research animals: health assessments on arrival, quarantine and acclimation, preventive care, and diagnosis and treatment of illness.
• Direct post-operative care, analgesia, and welfare monitoring for survival surgery animals, and write the monitoring plans the vet techs carry out.
• Help build the vivarium, including SOPs, anesthesia and surgical protocols, occupational health and biosecurity practices, and staff training and competency records.
• Work with the IACUC on protocol design, amendments, and inspections, and keep the program compliant with USDA Animal Welfare Act and PHS/OLAW requirements.
• Uphold the highest standards of animal welfare, ensuring that veterinary care, perioperative management, and monitoring practices reflect current veterinary standards and ethical research principles.
• Supervise and mentor the vet tech and animal care team, and oversee OR scheduling, animal ordering, drug inventory (including controlled substances and DEA records), and equipment purchasing.
• Work with scientists and engineers to refine procurement physiology (warm ischemia, heparinization, perfusion cannulation timing) to improve organ outcomes.

Requirements

• DVM/VMD (or equivalent), licensed or eligible for licensure in California.
• Substantial hands-on experience with large animal welfare and anesthesia, ideally in a research or surgical setting. Porcine experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience with ventilated anesthesia, arterial and central line monitoring, and managing hemodynamically complex patients through long procedures.
• Familiarity with IACUC processes and USDA/OLAW regulations. DACLAM, DACVAA, or equivalent residency training is a strong plus.
• Experience setting up or managing an animal facility, or supervising technical staff, is a plus.
• You thrive in a startup environment, take ownership, and care about both animal welfare and scientific rigor.