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Patent and Trademark Office is Hiring a Patent Examiner (Chemistry) Near Alexandria, VA

Qualifications:

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Patent Examiner Series, GS-1224, can be found at Patent Examining Series 1224 (opm.gov)

Individual Occupational Requirements for Chemistry can be found at, Chemistry Series, 1320 (opm.gov)

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To be considered for this position, you MUST Have at least a bachelor's degree (A) in physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics.
OR
B. Have a combination of education and experience--course work equivalent to a major as shown in A above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For documentation requirements, see below

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

GS-7:
A) Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). This can be defined by one of the following:
1) Class Standing-Upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the 'School of Engineering and Applied Science' or 'College of Science and Technology' based on completed courses.
2) Grade point average (GPA) as recorded on the final transcript
i) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ('B' or better) as recorded on the official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
ii) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ('B ' or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. The GPA is rounded to one decimal place. (2.95 = 3.0 and 2.94 = 2.9). The final transcript must cover the period being used to determine the GPA.
3) Honor Society membership--Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Click here for a list of qualified honor societies.

B) Have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service interpreting and applying basic chemistry and/or scientific principles, theories, concepts and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; planning and conducting research; applying appropriate references to the claimed invention, etc.
OR
C) Have at least one year of graduate level education from an accredited college and/or university in the fields of study as described in the Basic Qualification Requirements.

If the number of credit hours representing one year of full-time study cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study.
OR
D) Have less than the full amount of graduate education as described in 'C' above and less than the amount of experience described in 'B' above but have a combination 'B' and 'C' above.

GS-9:
A) Have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service interpreting and applying intermediate chemistry and/or scientific principles, theories, concepts and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; planning and conducting research; applying appropriate references to the claimed invention, etc.
OR
B) I have a combination of education and experience. I possess at least a bachelor's degree in chemistry, physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics AND have experience applying chemistry principles and theories in the chemistry field.
OR
C) Have at least two years of graduate level education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college and/or university in the fields of study as described in the Basic Qualification Requirements. If the number of credit hours representing one year of full-time study cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study.
OR
D) Have less than the full amount of education described in 'C' above and less than the amount of experience described in 'A' above but have a combination of the type of graduate education described in 'C' above and experience described in 'A' above.

GS-11:
A) Have at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service interpreting and applying advanced chemistry and/or scientific principles, theories, concepts and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; or planning and conducting research; or applying appropriate references to the claimed invention, etc.
OR
B) Have at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a chemistry curriculum from an accredited college and/or university in the fields of study as described in the Basic Qualification Requirements of this job announcement.
One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study (If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours is considered an academic year of graduate study).
OR
C) Have a combination of education and experience. Have less than the full amount of education described in 'B' above and less than the amount of experience described in 'A' above but have a combination of the type of graduate education described in 'B' above and experience described in 'A' above.

Responsibilities:

Patent examiners may choose to perform their duties throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

A patent examiner (PE) reviews applications to determine whether patents can be granted for inventions. Patents give inventors the right to exclude others from making or selling their inventions for a limited time. As a U.S. patent examiner, you will handle these basic patent examining functions:

• Search prior art to ensure that an invention is new and unique. Prior art is information that has been disclosed to the public about an invention before a given date - including any related patents, published articles and public demonstrations.
• Review patent applications to ensure conformity to formal requirements.
• Write legal office actions on patentability and respond to patent applicants.

GS-7: Perform basic patent examining functions with extensive instructions from the supervisor. Training will develop the ability to apply technical concepts to the patent examining process. Assignments combine performance of productive work with supervised on-the-job training.

GS-9: Independently perform intermediate patent examining functions with some supervision. Assignments are of average difficulty and require the application of technical concepts to the patent examining process. May perform advanced patent examining functions with supervision (e.g., the evaluation of special claim constructions, the requirement of restrictions, the recognition and development of probable interferences, etc.). These advanced activities are supported by close review.

GS-11: Independently perform patent examining functions and formulate or recommend appropriate action with respect to:

• Checking applications for technical accuracy and compliance with formal requirements
• Treating disclosure statements and claims of priority
• Analyzing disclosure and claims for compliance with 35 USC 112
• Planning a field of search
• Conducting search
• Formulating rejections under 35 USC 102 and 103 with supporting rationale, or determining how claim(s) distinguish over the prior art
• Determining whether amendment introduces new matter
• Determining whether restriction is proper
• Determining whether claimed invention is operable/useful as disclosed

Almost all of the PE's work is performed using a computer and is visually very demanding. Please search USAJOBS for 'Patent Examiner' or consult our Careers Website for further information.

Note: Applications will be accepted from students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. USPTO requires verification of successful completion before extending a final offer.

Job Summary