Patent Engineer (Contract)

The selected candidate will work with engineer inventors on a wide variety of technologies in the automotive sector, from electric vehicle technology to AI, autonomous driving, software, and car UX, and will contribute to expanding an intellectual property portfolio that builds on Mercedes Benz’s industry-leading innovation in the automotive industry.

Job Responsibilities:

• Conduct invention disclosure meetings, to develop understanding of projects, technical advancements, and inventions in a variety of different technology areas relevant to modern vehicles.
• Strategize with the inventors, patent team members, management, and other colleagues to create a strategy for IP protection for the innovation being created by Mercedes-Benz in North America.
• Identify candidate inventions that are suitable for patent protection, and craft claim strategy to protect such inventions via patents.
• Draft patent specifications based on the invention details learned from the inventors and based on the crafted IP protection/patent claim strategy, in the above-mentioned technology areas (e.g., software, AI, autonomous driving, EV technology).
• Assist in the prosecution of filed patent applications by analyzing office actions, proposing response strategies, and drafting responses to office actions.
• Engage and support engineering teams across MBRDNA to stay aware of ongoing projects and research across the company, and to identify innovations for different forms of IP protection.
• Perform initial patentability and freedom-to-operate assessment in the above technology areas.
• Provide training to non-IP colleagues in topics such as requirements for patentability, trade secret protection, trademark protection, and other IP topics.
• Research, screen, and strategically align with global colleagues on specific portions of the global patent portfolio.
• Cooperation with IP colleagues including patent professionals, administrative professionals and clerical assistants locally and abroad.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum years of experience: 3-5 years
• BS degree in an engineering or scientific discipline, such as computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, math, or physics.
• Ability to communicate with inventors to understand their inventions, and to translate selected inventions to a patent claim strategy and patent application specification.
• Ability to review claims and patent specifications drafted by outside counsel, as well as perform hands-on drafting of patent claims and specifications.
• Attorney registered to practice before the USPTO

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications

The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on a wide range of factors, including, but not limited to, job-related education, skills, and experience, geographic location, and market conditions. The current salary range for this position is as follows and may be modified in the future: $60/hr - $64/hr .