---

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

Qualifications:

You must meet the 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 OPM Patent Examiner Series 1224

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To be considered for this position, you must have either:

(A) successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering;

OR

(B) a combination of qualifying education and experience.

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.

The curriculum must:

1. Be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum;

OR

2. Include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas:

a) statics, dynamics; b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships) c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics d) thermodynamics; e) electrical fields and circuits; f) nature and properties of materials (relating to particle and aggregate structure to properties); g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics or electronicsORB) A combination of Education and Experience. This combination of college-level education, training and/or technical experience must have furnished both:

- A thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering; AND a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their application to professional engineering.

This can be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration-- Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico.

2. Written test-- Evidence of passing the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination or the written test required for professional registration, administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in various States, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

3. Specified academic courses-- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours in the physical, mathematical and engineering sciences and including the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.

4. Related curriculum-- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of an Engineering degree, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience with professional engineering supervision and guidance.

For documentation requirements, see REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.

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-

• 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
• 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 engineering 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 engineering 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) Have a combination of education and experience. I possess at least a bachelor's degree in engineering AND have experience applying engineering principles and theories in the engineering 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 (1) Interpreting and applying advanced computer engineering and/or scientific principles, theories, concepts and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; or (2) Planning and conducting technical research to draft technical papers; or (3) Applying appropriate references and case law to claimed inventions.

OR

B) Have at least three years of progressively higher level in graduate level education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral 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

C) Have less than the full amount of graduate 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.

As a U.S. patent examiner, you will use your specialized background to review 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. That means that patent examiners are essential to protecting American innovation! As a patent examiner, you will spend your time:

• Searching prior art using specialized technology systems 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 related patents, published articles and public demonstrations.
• Reviewing patent applications for potentially new inventions and innovations to ensure they meet the agency's requirements.
• Writing legal office actions on patentability and respond to patent applications.

New patent examiners receive top-notch training during the first months on the job that will give you the tools you need to be successful in your role.

GS-7: At the GS-7 level, you will perform basic patent examining tasks with extensive instructions from your supervisor. You will receive months of valuable training that will help you do your job well. This training will develop your ability to apply technical concepts to patent examining. Your assignments will pair performance of productive work with supervised on-the-job training. GS-09: At the GS-9 level, you will independently perform intermediate patent examining tasks with some supervision. Your assignments will be of average difficulty and require you to apply technical concepts to patent examining. You may perform advanced patent examining with supervision (e.g., evaluation of special claim constructions, requirement of restrictions, recognition and development of probable interferences, etc.). These advanced activities are supported by close review. GS-11: At the GS-11 level, you will 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

After preliminary instruction, you will perform patent examining functions and formulate or recommend appropriate action with respect to: Evaluating / applying case law as necessary; Evaluating sufficiency of affidavits / declarations; Determining whether appropriate line of patentable distinction is maintained between application and/or patents; Evaluating sufficiency of reissue oath / declaration.

Almost all of a patent examiner's work is performed using a computer and requires careful and frequent visual tasks.

This is a Computer Engineering position. If this is not your area of expertise, we have openings for patent examiner positions in disciplines such as:

• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Science

Please search USAJOBS for 'Patent Examiner' or visit our Careers Website for further information.

Note: If you are a student who will be graduating soon, you can still apply! Applications will be accepted from students who expect to complete their qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. The USPTO requires verification of successful completion before your start date.

Job Summary