Intellectual Property Specialist – Physical Science

Job Posting Title:

Intellectual Property Specialist – Physical Science

Hiring Department:

Discovery to Impact

Position Open To:

All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

Job Details:

General Notes

Mission of Discovery to Impact:

Discovery to Impact stands at the heart of transforming academic research into real-world solutions, serving as the pivotal bridge between campus innovators and the industry. Our mission is to harness the power of over 130 campus programs dedicated to entrepreneurship and intellectual property, guiding groundbreaking research from concept to commercial success. Through fostering strategic partnerships with corporations, investors, and entrepreneurs, we ensure that the University's innovations transition from labs and studios into services, solutions, and products that profoundly benefit society. Join us in our quest to change the world, one innovation at a time.

What benefits do I receive with UT? The university offers an impressive benefits package including, but not limited to:

• Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
• Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
• Generous paid vacation (8 hours/month), paid holidays (10 /year), sick time (8 hours/month), and longevity pay
• Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 8.25% employer matching funds
• Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
• Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities
• Tuition assistance
• Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets
• Free access to UT Austin's libraries and museums with staff ID card
• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card
  
  
  

For more details on benefits, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards.

Purpose

The IP Specialist for physical science is responsible for soliciting and managing innovation in physical science material and technology areas created by university faculty, staff, and students from the University of Texas at Austin and Dell Medical School. The IP specialist will educate the university community on IP practices, policy, ensure compliance with the University of Texas System’s Regents’ Rules, and assist in developing the university's intellectual property assets for commercialization opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Intellectual Property Management: Actively manage a portfolio of physical science inventions with the objective of supporting UT research innovation and commercialization through superior service and support, including:
• Proactively capture innovation from university research in the areas of physical science for IP consideration;
• Fielding faculty consultations and fostering excellent working relationships with inventors;
• Evaluating invention disclosures for patent-ability through prior art searches;
• Coordinating with the Business Development team, evaluating invention disclosures for commercial value and overall market potential;
• Building and maintaining effective relationships with outside patent counsel to identify appropriate patent counsel and working with counsel and inventors to draft, file, and prosecute patent applications with commercially relevant claims;
• Growing the physical science IP portfolio in strategic areas and pruning non-aligned IP from the portfolio;
• Coordinate with the Business Development and Licensing and Collaborative Research teams on continuous advancement of the portfolio
• Outreach and Relationship Management: Actively engage in outreach with UT Austin faculty to raise awareness of the services provided by the Discovery to Impact organization and promote a culture of innovation.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for University inventors, including maintaining knowledge of the current status of individual researcher portfolios throughout the commercialization process.
• Advise University inventors regarding University intellectual property policies and related technology commercialization processes.
• Advise on Intellectual Property: Advise University inventors regarding University intellectual property policies and related technology commercialization processes.
• Other Duties: Perform additional responsibilities as assigned by the Director of Intellectual Property.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, or a related Physical Science field.
• Experience in technology transfer, R&D, or IP management within a technical industry or academic research setting (Minimum 1 year, may include internships).
• Knowledge of Patent Law with experience in patent-ability assessments and market validation —the ability to perform prior art searches and competitive landscape analyses for new technologies.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts for legal and business audiences; experience interfacing with scientists and engineers to identify commercially viable inventions.
• Capable of managing a broad IP portfolio consisting of multiple assets at different stages of the lifecycle, from initial disclosure to commercialization.
• Self-motivated professional with the strategic mindset to prioritize high-value disclosures and meet strict filing deadlines.
• Available for occasional travel to visit labs or attend industry conferences, with the ability to work extended hours during peak filing or negotiation periods.
  
  
  

Preferred Qualifications (candidates need not have all of these qualifications to apply)

• A background in Patent Law or Technology Transfer is highly preferred.
• Experience applying statutory requirements to complex physical science inventions (e.g., novelty, non-obviousness)
• Experience with technology licensing principles, including royalty structures, field-of-use restrictions, and material transfer agreements (MTAs).
• Advanced degree or Registered Patent Agent.
• Advanced skills in IP management software, patent search databases (e.g., USPTO, Espacenet, Derwent), and standard productivity applications.
• Technology transaction and IP licensing experience
• Experience advising internal compliance, operations, and process functions
• Extensive knowledge of licensing.
• Experience collaborating with business and research teams to determine optimal strategies for patent filing and prosecution.
• Demonstrated ability to work with university researchers to understand early-stage technology concepts, communicate effectively with regards to the patenting process, and ensure understanding among the researcher, the patent attorney, and the internal team.
• Working knowledge of policies/issues relating to commercialization of university science-based research.
• Demonstrated ability to articulate an invention's potential technological and commercial impact.
  
  
  

Salary Range

$90,000 depending on qualifications

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
  
  
  

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume in the first step of the online job application process. Then, any additional Required Materials will be uploaded in the My Experience section; you can multi-select the additional files or click the Upload button for each file. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find Jobs. Before you apply though, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will need to click the Upload button multiple times in order to attach your Resume, References and any additional Required Materials noted above.

Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.