Thrive Pet Healthcare Careers

Registered Veterinary Technician - Lead

Full-time

Mission Animal Hospital

San Luis Obispo, CA

Compensation is negotiable based on experience and credentials, with an expected starting range of $32-34/hour. The actual pay will carefully consider a wide range of factors including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

About You

You’ll play an important role in pets’ lives by providing end-to-end care for our precious patients. Your life-changing work will range from the hands-on care of facilitating outpatient treatments and performing laboratory tests, to support services including intake and discharging patients.

The success of your patients’ care matters to you, and your success matters to us.

Your Experience & Skills 

Required:

• Active California Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) license
• 3–5+ years of clinical experience in a veterinary setting (GP preferred)
• Previous leadership or supervisory experience strongly preferred
• Strong anesthesia and dentistry skills
• Excellent communication and organizational abilities

Preferred:

• Experience with practice management software (e.g., Avimark, ezyVet, Cornerstone)
• Conflict resolution and team leadership skills
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and multitask effectively

Responsibilities (include but are not limited to):

Clinical Leadership

• Perform all duties of an RVT, including:
  • Anesthesia induction, monitoring, and recovery
  • Surgical assistance and dental procedures
  • Radiology, laboratory diagnostics, and sample collection
• Serve as the primary technical resource for complex or critical cases
• Ensure adherence to hospital medical protocols and standards of care

Team Management

• Supervise, mentor, and support RVTs, veterinary assistants, and support staff
• Assist with hiring, onboarding, and training of technical team members
• Provide ongoing coaching, performance feedback, and evaluations
• Create and manage staff schedules to ensure adequate coverage

Workflow & Operations

• Coordinate daily caseload and technician assignments
• Optimize efficiency of appointments, treatments, and procedures
• Maintain inventory of medical supplies and controlled substances
• Ensure proper maintenance and use of medical equipment

Client Communication

• Support client education on treatment plans, medications, and preventive care
• Assist with handling escalated client concerns professionally
• Promote a high standard of client service and communication

Compliance & Safety

• Ensure compliance with state regulations and hospital policies
• Maintain accurate medical records and documentation
• Uphold safety standards for patients and staff, including anesthesia and handling protocols

Work Environment

• General practice veterinary hospital with a mix of wellness, medical, and surgical cases
• Fast-paced setting requiring standing, lifting, and animal handling, with or without reasonable accommodation

You’ll Grow with Us

Here, you can grow your career as best fits you through access to comprehensive learning and skillset programs. You can build your skills and earn credentials through:

• Our vast, diverse, and free library of continuing education courses - ThriveU
• Live, virtual interactive workshops to develop valuable leadership skills 
• A program designed to teach you the fundamentals of running a pet hospital

And, with so many locations nationwide, you can find and move into any specialty, hospital type, or environment. Join us and provide your best care at a clinic that is deeply rooted within its community and bolstered by the resources of Thrive Pet Healthcare.

Benefits – our care in action

Thrive offers a suite of benefits to support team members’ emotional, physical, professional, and financial wellbeing. In addition to our health and life insurance, and short- and long- term disability plans, we offer eligible team members:

• Competitive pay
• 401(k) with employer match
• Mental health resources, including easy access to therapy through Lyra Health
• Paid parental leave
• Purr-ental leave for when you adopt a pet
• Subsidized backup childcare and elder care
• Expert advice, support and network discounts for fertility and family planning
• FREE CE courses
• Pet perks and veterinary service discounts
• Student loan support tools and assistance

*Some benefits shown are only for full-time team members who work 30 hours or more per week. Certain Benefits may be subject to waiting periods or length of service requirements.

About Thrive

Thrive Pet Healthcare creates the future of pet well-being through medical excellence, innovative technology, and a connected community of teams and partners. Today, its network of 360+ primary, emergency, and specialty hospitals across the U.S. cares for pets of all ages and health needs, while portfolio companies provide tools and technology that help veterinary teams work smarter and deliver better care. Thrive invests in its people—through mentorship, leadership programs, continuing education, and well-being initiatives—so teams can grow and feel supported. For pet owners, convenient solutions such as a mobile app, digital booking, Thrive PlusTM membership, HereFurYou Helpline, an online pharmacy and flexible financial options* make accessing quality care simpler— giving families the peace of mind their pets deserve. Learn more at thrivepetcare.com.

We welcome you to join our story and join where #WeThriveTogether.