Sr. Patent Engineer
Somerset, NJ, US, 08873
Terumo Medical Corporation (TMC) develops, manufactures, and markets a complete, solutions-based portfolio of high-quality medical devices used in a broad range of applications for numerous areas of the healthcare industry. TMC places a premium on providing customers with world-class products, training and education programs that drive clear economic value, better clinical outcomes and improved quality of life for patients. TMC is part of Tokyo-based Terumo Corporation; one of the world’s leading medical device manufacturers with $6+ billion in sales, 30,000+ employees worldwide and operations in more than 160 nations. Terumo Medical Corporation is comprised of two strategic business divisions: Terumo Interventional Systems and Terumo Medical Products.
We believe that the future is bright for everyone at Terumo. We work with the future in mind to generate lasting change, create a bigger impact and produce greater outcomes for today, and for decades to come.
At Terumo we believe in the power of personal growth and will encourage you to get in the driver's seat - progressing in the direction you want to go by deepening your skills throughout your career. We want you to be bold, think outside the box, experiment, innovate and deliver what's next for quality healthcare. You will be part of a collaborative, respectful and resilient team of associates and leaders around the world, working together as partners to achieve more than you thought possible, providing real-world, impactful solutions for patients.
Join us and help shape wherever we go next!
Advancing healthcare with heart
Job Summary
This position is responsible for providing Intellectual Property (IP) support for one or more Divisions of the Company. This includes working closely with associates in engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing, legal, and other functional areas to identify and protect the Company’s IP via patents, trademarks, or trade secrets. It also includes identifying and mitigating risks associated with introducing new products, providing competitive intelligence via IP searches and monitoring, evaluating new innovations for patentability, working with outside IP counsel (e.g., searches and patent prep and prosecution), and more generally supporting Company associates for IP-related issues.
Job Details/Responsibilities
- Assist in the development and maintenance of the Company’s intellectual property (IP), including patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights.
Identify and mitigate IP legal risks relating to the launch of new products through freedom to operate (FTO) searches and analyses. Coordinate with IP leadership to communicate results to key stakeholders. - Conduct and coordinate research into a variety of IP issues.
- Conduct analyses of competitors and create patent landscapes.
Coordinate and manage work of outside IP legal counsel for patent and trademark prep and prosecution and for IP searches.
Contribute to the development of IP policies and best practices. - Manage assigned patent and trademark portfolios.
Facilitate regular meetings with stakeholders to review innovation disclosures, patent portfolios, and other relevant IP matters (e.g., IP Committee Meetings). - Assist with preparing and delivering IP training to business associates.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Job Responsibilities (continued)
Organizational impact:
Ensures that Company innovation is identified, harvested and protected, and that costs incurred with the forgoing are reasonable and justifiable. Manages patent portfolio to ensure it is aligned with current and identified future business and company objectives. Ensures responsible expenses as a result of the foregoing.
Communication & Influence:
Leads IP Committee meetings to review innovation disclosures and manage patent and trade secret protection. Subject-matter expert on patent portfolio and capable of explaining to technical and business stakeholders. May influence decision -making on IP strategy.
Leadership & Autonomy:
Capable of translating complex legal issues like freedom to operate so they are understandable by technical and business stakeholders. Able to develop solutions for freedom to operate challenges, e.g., design-around options, non-infringement and invalidity positions.
Working Conditions/Physical Requirements
This is a hybrid position with approximatley 15% travel.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA)
- Ability to work with minimal supervision.
- Ability to work under strict time constraints and meet deadlines in timely manner.
- Strong knowledge of USPTO, WO and EPO rules, procedures and practices.
- Strong interpersonal skills and able to accomplish organizational objectives effectively.
- Advanced computer skills, to include Microsoft Office, patent database and other applicable software programs.
- Detailed oriented.
- Strong written and verbal skills.
- Ability to use discretion and good judgment and maintain confidentiality.
Qualifications/ Background Experiences
o Requires a four-year college degree in Mechanical, Biomedical, or Electrical Engineering and a minimum of six (6) years engineering experience with minimum three of those years experience in an intellectual property law firm or corporate legal/IP department, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
o Requires experience in preparing and prosecuting US, WO and EP patent and trademark applications.
o Requires experience in searching USPTO and EPO databases and other sources of IP data and information (e.g., patents, patent applications, relevant publications, etc.)
o Requires experience in conducting patentability, freedom to operate and landscape searches and in reporting results to stakeholders
o Requires experience in gathering competitive intelligence relating to IP
o Registered to practice before the USPTO preferred.
o Medical device experience preferred.
It is Terumo’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants for employment regardless of their race, creed, color, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, disability status, liability for military service, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information (including the refusal to submit to genetic testing), or any other category protected by law. As a Company, we value diversity of background and opinion, and prohibit discrimination or harassment on the basis of any legally protected class in the areas of hiring, recruitment, promotion, transfer, demotion, training, compensation, pay, fringe benefits, layoff, termination or any other terms and conditions of employment.
Final compensation packages may be higher or lower than what is listed, and will ultimately depend on factors including relevant experience, internal equity, skillset, knowledge, geography, education, business needs and market demand. We provide competitive and comprehensive benefit options which include: annual bonus, paid vacation, paid holidays, health, dental and vision benefits, 401(k), with matching contributions, tax advantage savings accounts, legal plan, voluntary life and AD&D insurance, voluntary long-term disability, short term disability, critical illness and accident insurance, parental leave, personal leave, tuition reimbursement, travel assistance, and an employee assistance program. The salary range for this position is $111,000 - $138,000 plus a 10% target bonus.
Nearest Major Market: New Jersey