Lead Veterinary Technician

Where Advanced Medicine Meets Lifesaving Impact

At PAWS Chicago, every patient has a story—and every member of our medical team plays a vital role in changing its ending.

PAWS Chicago provides advanced medical care to thousands of homeless and at-risk animals each year while maintaining an industry-leading save rate. Our Shelter Medicine team treats everything from neonatal kittens and puppies to critically ill emergency patients, infectious disease cases, trauma, and medically complex animals that require intensive nursing care and close collaboration across disciplines.

For veterinary technicians, there are few environments that offer this breadth of experience. Every day presents new challenges, opportunities to expand your clinical skills, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on the lives of animals who have nowhere else to turn.

If you're looking for a career where your technical expertise is valued, your professional growth is supported, and your work directly saves lives, we'd love to meet you

Position Summary

The Shelter Medicine Lead Veterinary Technician plays a vital role in supporting the medical care of the homeless animals placed into loving homes through PAWS Chicago each year. Working closely with the Shelter Medicine leadership and the veterinary support team, the Lead Veterinary Technician helps ensure that every animal receives the highest standard of medical care and compassionate treatment.

The Lead Veterinary Technician at PAWS Chicago applies advanced technical expertise while collaborating across departments to support the organization's mission. This role provides day-to-day leadership for the Shelter Medicine Technicians and Veterinary Assistants, oversees workflow and staff assignments to maximize efficiency, helps drive positive outcomes for the thousands of animals cared for by PAWS Chicago each year and is experienced in maintaining accurate controlled substance records while ensuring compliance with DEA regulations.

Whether caring for neonatal patients, assisting with emergency cases, managing hospitalized animals, or preparing pets for adoption, every day offers opportunities to lead, grow, and make a lasting difference.

What You’ll Do

Deliver Outstanding Patient Care

• Provide exceptional medical care to animals of all life stages, from neonates to seniors, including emergency and intensive care as needed.
• Evaluate animals for disease, injury, parasites, and other health concerns, communicating findings to Shelter Veterinarians.
• Provide technical assistance to Veterinary Technicians and Veterinary Assistants and communicate changes in patient condition, diagnostic results, treatment plans, and medical concerns.
• Collect samples for and perform laboratory testing, including infectious disease diagnostics, ensuring accurate and timely results.
• Place and maintain intravenous (IV) catheters, administer treatments for hospitalized patients, and perform daily patient assessments in collaboration with veterinarians.
• Follow and enforce established shelter medical protocols, including the administration of prescribed medications and treatments.
• Provide emergency triage and urgent patient care as needed.

Advance Shelter Medicine

• Manage animal throughput by coordinating patient flow and prioritizing medical care to maximize capacity and efficiency.
• Monitor the Shelter Medicine department's medical capacity and communicate updates to partner departments, including Foster and Intake, to support population management.
• Assist the Shelter Medicine Senior Manager in monitoring the shelter population for infectious disease trends and behavioral concerns, participating in interdisciplinary Population Rounds.
• Maintain laboratory equipment and troubleshoot operational issues to ensure uninterrupted diagnostic services.
• Train staff on proper collection, handling, and submission of laboratory samples to maintain high diagnostic standards.
• Support continuous improvement of shelter medicine practices through adherence to protocols, efficient workflow management, and collaboration across departments.
• Collaborate with veterinarians, leadership, and cross-functional teams to ensure coordinated, high-quality patient care and efficient departmental operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of the Shelter Medicine team and PAWS Chicago's mission.

Leadership and Growth

• Train Veterinary Technicians and Veterinary Assistants during onboarding and support ongoing professional development and skill advancement.
• Mentor Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, externs, and interns, fostering a culture of learning and professional excellence.
• Coordinate volunteer training, delegate appropriate responsibilities, and partner with Volunteer Coordinators on volunteer recruitment and scheduling.

What You’ll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Passion for animal welfare and PAWS Chicago's No Kill mission.
• Strong understanding of veterinary nursing principles, including patient assessment, disease recognition, medication administration, laboratory procedures, and animal restraint.
• Experience with blood collection, IV catheter placement, treatment administration, and patient monitoring.
• Ability to remain calm, organized, and compassionate while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced clinical environment.
• Strong communication and teamwork skills.
• Basic computer proficiency.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years technician experience required
• Certified Veterinary Technician in Illinois preferred
• Animal shelter experience preferred
• Minimum of 1-2 years of leadership experience

Why PAWS Chicago?

Shelter medicine is one of the most dynamic and rewarding fields in veterinary medicine. At PAWS Chicago, you'll gain hands-on experience with a remarkable diversity of medical cases while working alongside an experienced team committed to advancing animal welfare through exceptional medicine.

You'll Build Experience In:

• Emergency and critical care
• Infectious disease management
• Neonatal and pediatric nursing
• Internal medicine
• Population medicine
• Diagnostic laboratory testing
• Digital radiology
• Intensive nursing care
• Preventive medicine
• Shelter and foster medicine
  

You'll be supported in your professional development and encouraged to continuously grow your skills through mentorship and continuing education.

Most importantly, you'll experience the extraordinary reward of watching critically ill, injured, and vulnerable animals recover, heal, and leave the shelter for loving homes because of the care you helped provide.

Our Values

Our work is guided by the values that define PAWS Chicago:

• Respect: Every life has value.
• Community: We save more lives together.
• Innovation: We continually improve shelter medicine through learning and best practices.
• Proactivity: We anticipate challenges and respond with urgency and compassion.
• Transparency: We measure our impact and hold ourselves accountable.
• Education: We empower people to improve the lives of animals.
• Sustainability: We build programs that create lasting change.
• Compassion: We care deeply—for animals, our colleagues, and our community.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance, including ancillary options and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through Blue Cross Blue Shield 
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer match 
• Paid time off, including vacation, sick days, and holidays 

Join a team where your technical expertise is valued, your growth is encouraged, and your work changes lives every day.