Description:

We are seeking a highly skilled and detail-oriented Patent Attorney to join our team. This role will focus on protecting and managing the company's intellectual property assets, and partnering closely with R&D, product development, and business teams. The Patent Attorney will be responsible for drafting and prosecuting patent applications, advising on patent strategy, and ensuring that our innovations are safeguarded in a competitive market.

Key Responsibilities:

Trusted Advisor: Partner with engineers, scientists, and product teams to identify inventions and assess patentability.
Patents: Draft, file, and prosecute patent applications in the U.S. and manage their international counterparts. This includes drafting and/or supporting office action responses and other prosecution actions, foreign and domestic. Manage and grow the company's global patent portfolio, ensuring alignment across affiliates and business units.
Freedom to Operate (FTO) and Prior Art Searches: Perform and assess FTOs and prior art searches to assess whether an invention is new and unique, and to support product development and launches.
Legal Opinions: Provide legal opinions on patent infringement, validity, and enforceability.
Contracts: Draft, review, and negotiate intellectual property related agreements, including but not limited to licensing and collaborations.
Export Administration Regulation (EAR) Assessments: Perform EAR analyses and other regulatory screenings to evaluate export control implications of technologies and inventions. The candidate will be trained in-house.
Outside Counsel: Manage and cautiously use outside counsel on complex filings, oppositions, and disputes.

Education and Certifications:

Bachelor of Science or equivalent in a science or technology related discipline from an accredited school or university (required).
Master of Science or equivalent in a science or technology related discipline from an accredited school or university (preferred).
Juris Doctor from an accredited law school (required).
Admission to practice law in at least one U.S. state bar (required).
Admission to the USPTO Patent Bar (required).

Experience Needed:

Minimum of 2 years of experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in various technical fields.
Strong technical background in at least one of engineering, material sciences, biological sciences, physics, chemistry or related fields.
Strong attention to detail and time management skills.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with all levels in the organization.
Bilingual in English and Japanese preferred.