Job Description
Job Position: IP Counsel
Date: November 2023
Location: Knoville (TN) or Madison (WI)
Salary: Highly Competitive Plus Benefits
Hours: Full Time
Contract Type: Permanent
Reporting to: Chief Technology Officer
About Type One Energy
Type One Energy Group is mission-driven to provide sustainable, affordable fusion power to the world.
The company was formed in 2019 by a team of globally-recognized fusion scientists with a strong track record of building state-of-art stellarator fusion machines, together with veteran business leaders experienced in successfully scaling companies and commercializing energy technologies.
Type One Energy applies proven advanced manufacturing methods, modern computational physics and high-field superconducting magnets to develop its optimized stellarator fusion energy system. Its FusionDirect development program pursues the lowest-risk, shortest-schedule path to a fusion power plant over the coming decade, using a partner-intensive and capital-efficient strategy. For more information, visit https://www.typeoneenergy.com/
About the role
Type One Energy is seeking an IP Counsel who will be responsible for differentiating our intellectual property as an offensive and defensive asset by building, protecting, and managing our portfolio. This further entails maximizing the value of IP while ensuring freedom-to-operate. This is particularly true with respect to sponsored research and joint development agreements.
The Type One IP portfolio spans patents, licenses, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks.
The role will be responsible for developing and implementing the company's intellectual property strategy, managing our IP portfolio, and overseeing all intellectual property-related legal matters. Coming from industry, this IP leader will have a strong background in: IP portfolio management; IP law and patent prosecution; licensing and other technology transactions; patent landscape analysis and IP strategy.
Responsibilities
· Establishing and managing a cross-functional portfolio management process.
· Formalizing technology transactions with universities, labs, other companies, and government institutions by the development and negotiation of agreements in concert with IP counsel, the Type One team, and prospective collaborators.
· Educating and empowering our employees to proactively conceive, recognize and protect inventions.
· Establishing and managing an NDA [non-disclosure agreement] process for review, approvals, and tracking.
· In a timely manner, review communications from external patent and trademark counsels, and ensure decisions of patent applications, including foreign filings in concert with the IP Portfolio Management team.
· Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including research, development and engineering, marketing, and legal, to ensure IP protection and to identify new IP opportunities.
· Identify critical technologies for Type One Energy – both base and differentiating.
· Track and analyse competitive patent activity.
· Landscape our patent space and identify portfolio gaps and white space.
· Develop patent strategies to close gaps and seize opportunities.
· Stay up to date with the latest developments in IP law and industry trends, and provide guidance and advice to the company's management team and all IP stakeholders.
· Work closely with technical teams to understand their technologies and advancements.
· Serving as a champion and voice for IP across the company and in the leadership team.
Required Qualifications and Experience
• BS, preferably in physical sciences and engineering ‘of things.’ A law degree or patent agent credentials is a big plus.
• 10+ years of experience:
o In IP management and transactions within a commercial enterprise with a focus on patent prosecution.
o Working closely with technical teams and inventors in engineering (of things), physical sciences or both, particularly physics.
o Managing external relationships with outside counsel, patent agents, and other IP service providers.
o Formalizing technology transactions with a broad spectrum of parties (e.g., universities, labs, companies, and government agencies) is a big plus.
• Strong knowledge of patent law, including US and international patent laws and procedures.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, senior management, and external parties.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Creative with an ability to expand the scope of inventions and claims.
• Ability to think strategically and provide guidance and advice on intellectual property matters and sourcing to the company's senior management.
• Proactive, diligent and detail-oriented.
Equality of Opportunity
Type One Energy is An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.
To Apply
Please send your CV and cover letter to Sam Belazka at sam.belazka@typeoneenergy.com and for more information please visit our website at www.typeoneenergy.com.