Associate Intellectual Property Engineer/Patent Agent (IP Engineer)
Description
The Intellectual Property Engineer/Patent Agent contributes to the creation and management of the company’s patent portfolio.
The position unites a command of electrical engineering fundamentals with an understanding of the patent process to produce high quality patent applications and to make recommendations for strategic business decisions. As such, a relevant background in electrical engineering and interest with the patent process is required. Familiarity with analog circuits and switched-mode power supply technology is a bonus. Strong writing and editing skills in the English language are essential.
As part of the patent team, the IP Engineer contributes to the company’s patent portfolio. The role includes preparing, drafting, and prosecuting domestic and foreign patent applications either directly with the applicable patent office or with outside counsel. Specific responsibilities include writing patent specifications and claims, producing drawings for patent applications, organizing, and analyzing submissions of new ideas, prosecuting patent applications with the USPTO, and providing technical support for patent prosecution when working with outside counsel. Technical support for patent prosecution includes analysis of office actions and references. The role further includes writing claims for offensive or defensive patent strategy.
The work involves interaction with integrated circuit designers, applications engineers, and semiconductor device designers to receive and process new ideas into patent applications and to identify technologies which are candidates for patent protection.
Responsibilities may also include working with paralegals and administrative support to file patent applications and any necessary paperwork related to prosecution directly with the USPTO.
Additional responsibilities include ongoing analysis of the patent portfolio to assess costs and benefits. As part of the patent team, the IP Engineer participates at regular meetings with executive management to provide information and recommendations for strategic business decisions.
REQUIREMENTS/EXPERIENCE:
1) BS, MS, or Ph.D. in electrical engineering or related technical field, with demonstrated competence in the theory and application of analog electronic circuits.
2) Registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office with minimum 3 years of experience with patent prosecution is preferred but would be open to candidates with less experience.
3) Highly developed technical writing and editing skills that include a superior command of the English language.
4) Experience in composition of patent applications is ideal. Other applicable experience includes writing and editing articles for technical journals.
5) Proficient in use of software tools such as Visio, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to prepare documents with drawings, images, and text.
6) Experience with Patent Center and electronic docketing systems, such as Foundation IP is a valuable asset.
7) Experience in the construction and evaluation of circuits in the laboratory is desirable.
8) Experience in the design of off-line switched mode power supplies or familiarity with the design and fabrication of high voltage semiconductor devices would be a bonus.
Pay: $85K, commensurate with experience