Description:

Eaton's legal organization is hiring a dynamic Assistant Chief IP Counsel. Primary locations are Beachwood, Ohio at the company's US HQ and/or in Moon Township, Pennsylvania at the Electrical Sector NA HQ . Will also consider remote work with travel.

What You'll Do:
Job Summary:
Eaton is seeking an experienced and strategic intellectual property leader to serve as Assistant Chief IP Counsel within the Innovation and Technology Legal team. Reporting to the Vice President & Chief Counsel, Innovation and Technology, this role serves as a senior legal advisor to technology leadership, business executives, and cross-functional stakeholders on intellectual property strategy, portfolio management, technology transactions, innovation protection, commercialization, and risk management.

The Assistant Chief IP Counsel plays a key leadership role in developing and executing Eaton's global intellectual property strategy, enabling protection of intellectual property assets, driving exploitation strategies to advance Eaton's business objectives. This position is responsible for providing strategic counsel across patents, trade secrets, software, AI-enabled technologies, copyrights, trademarks, data rights, licensing, technology collaborations, open-source software, and innovation ecosystems.

The successful candidate will combine deep intellectual property expertise with strong business acumen and executive presence, helping to translate complex legal and technology issues into practical business solutions that support innovation, growth, competitiveness, and enterprise value creation.

Job Responsibilities:

Intellectual Property Strategy & Leadership

Partner with senior business, engineering, and technology leaders to develop and execute a global intellectual property strategy aligned with Eaton's innovation and business objectives.
Drive the identification, protection, development, maintenance, exploitation, and optimization of Eaton's intellectual property portfolio worldwide.
Advise executive leadership on emerging intellectual property risks, opportunities, competitive positioning, and innovation trends.
Serve as a trusted advisor to the Chief Legal Officer and senior legal leadership team, Chief Technology Officer, business presidents, and senior business leadership and engineering leadership, regarding intellectual property and technology-related legal matters.
Develop and implement governance frameworks, operating procedures, and key performance metrics for intellectual property management and innovation support.

Portfolio Development & Innovation Support

Lead strategic patent portfolio development activities across multiple technology domains, including electrical systems, industrial technologies, software, automation, digital solutions, AI-enabled systems, cybersecurity, and connected products.
Guide invention harvesting, patentability assessments, portfolio prioritization, whitespace analyses, competitive intelligence, and innovation protection strategies.
Drive enterprise-wide intellectual property portfolio optimization efforts, ensuring investment is focused on high-value technologies and business priorities.
Provide strategic counseling regarding trade secret protection, know-how management, proprietary information management, and confidential information programs.

Freedom-to-Operate & Risk Management

Provide strategic advice regarding freedom-to-operate assessments, infringement risks, competitive patent landscapes, and product development initiatives.
Develop and execute risk mitigation strategies that support innovation while minimizing exposure to third-party intellectual property claims.
Oversee infringement investigations, validity analyses, opposition proceedings, post-grant challenges, and intellectual property dispute management.
Advise on intellectual property implications arising from emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, digital products, cloud solutions, data-driven technologies, and software-enabled offerings.
Technology Transactions & Commercialization
Lead and support complex technology transactions.
Structure and negotiate intellectual property provisions in commercial, supply chain, engineering, and strategic partnership agreements.
Support innovation commercialization initiatives by developing practical and scalable intellectual property frameworks.

Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Transactions

Lead intellectual property due diligence activities for acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, minority investments, and strategic transactions.
Assess intellectual property assets, liabilities, ownership, licensing structures, and freedom-to-operate considerations.
Advise transaction teams on intellectual property valuation, integration planning, and post-transaction risk management.
Global Intellectual Property Operations
Lead and collaborate with globally distributed intellectual property professionals, outside counsel, and service providers.
Manage outside counsel performance, budgeting, staffing, and portfolio efficiency initiatives.
Drive continuous improvement efforts within intellectual property operations through standardization, automation, analytics, and process optimization.
Ensure compliance with applicable intellectual property laws, regulations, and evolving legal requirements across jurisdictions.

Education & Stakeholder Engagement

Build strong relationships across Eaton's businesses and corporate functions.
Develop and deliver executive, engineering, and business-focused training on intellectual property, trade secrets, innovation protection, artificial intelligence, software development, and related topics.
Foster a culture of innovation, intellectual property awareness, and responsible technology development throughout the organization.

Eaton's technology journey: As Eaton accelerates its technology journey from digital enablement to AI-enabled enterprise transformation, the Assistant Chief IP Counsel plays a critical role in ensuring innovation is protected, scalable, and aligned with business strategy. This role partners closely with various leaders and innovators to harvest, identify, and protect high-value innovations, manage intellectual property risk, enable responsible adoption of emerging technologies, and help convert technical breakthroughs into sustainable competitive advantage. By combining legal, technical, and strategic expertise, the Assistant Chief IP Counsel helps ensure Eaton's investments in innovation, data, software, AI, and connected technologies create long-term value while safeguarding the company's intellectual assets and freedom to operate.

Qualifications:

Education level required
Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
Undergraduate degree in engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, physics, chemistry, or other technical discipline.

Years and area of experience required
Minimum of 15 years of experience in intellectual property law, including significant experience supporting innovation-intensive businesses.

Technical knowledge

Registered U.S. Patent Attorney or equivalent patent qualification in a major jurisdiction.
Experience managing patent portfolios, technology transactions, licensing, and intellectual property risk matters.
Experience leading complex intellectual property issues within a multinational organization, major law firm, or combination thereof.

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced degree in engineering, science, technology, business, or intellectual property law.
Experience supporting industrial, electrical, software, automation, digital, cybersecurity, AI, or connected-product businesses.
Experience working as an IP attorney at a law firm and an industrial company preferred.
Significant experience with patent portfolio management, freedom-to-operate analysis, licensing and monetization, trade secret programs, open-source software, AI governance, and IP due diligence.
Demonstrated success leading global teams and managing outside counsel relationships.

Skills:
Soft skills:

The successful candidate will demonstrate:
Think Big

Develops enterprise-wide intellectual property strategies that create long-term competitive advantage.
Anticipates emerging technology, legal, and market developments.

Act Boldly

Makes informed decisions in ambiguous and rapidly evolving environments.
Challenges conventional thinking and advances innovative solutions.

Win Together

Builds trusted relationships across legal, engineering, R&D, product, technology, cybersecurity, and business teams.
Influences without authority and drives alignment among diverse stakeholders.