Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, Intellectual Property

Altos Labs•San Diego, CA

About The Position

Altos Labs is seeking an energetic and strategic Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, Intellectual Property to lead its global IP function. As a critical member of the Legal team, this role is responsible for the creation and implementation of a global intellectual property strategy to protect groundbreaking innovations in cellular programming and computational biology, and ultimately novel transformative therapeutics for patients. The ideal candidate thrives in complex, fast-changing environments, drives thoughtful and effective strategic execution, and translates broad organizational visions into clear, actionable strategies. They make decisive choices when faced with incomplete data or shifting priorities, communicate transparently, and keep the team focused and aligned. This role builds and role models a culture of courage and creativity, elevates others, clears roadblocks, and confidently delegates ownership. The candidate is an ethical, mission-driven leader and team player with excellent technical and interpersonal capabilities, possessing the presence to convey legal matters clearly and inspire trust and confidence.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school
Ph.D. in biology, chemistry or related scientific field
Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Admitted to California Bar or ability to qualify as Registered In-House Counsel
15+ years of progressive IP experience, ideally beginning in a law firm followed by significant in-house leadership experience in pharma or biotech sector.
Deep knowledge and proven track record of the global pharmaceutical industry, including R&D, regulatory, manufacturing, and commercial aspects.
Proven senior level leadership experience, including managing people/teams, working effectively cross-functionally, managing outside counsel and spend, and overseeing high volume intellectual property workflow.
High Integrity: Act with honesty, keep commitments, and take full accountability for actions. Role model for organizational values and adhere to ethical guidelines even under pressure.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Effectively cope with change, shift gears comfortably, and make strategic IP decisions particularly when the underlying science or legal precedents are still emerging and undefined.
Bias to Action: Drive to practical solutions and have an ownership mindset. Execute against goals and milestones with speed and quality and enable trade-offs to ensure company goals are met.
Managerial Courage: Lean into smart risk taking and cutting-edge approaches to creating IP value. Embrace healthy conflict and do not shy away from difficult conversations. Provide direct, actionable feedback and commit to the best outcome, even when it is hard.
Teamwork and Collaboration: Natural bridge-builder. Break down silos. Foster a culture of shared success and ensure IP is experienced as a strategic partner.
Executive Presence: Command attention and inspire confidence. Distill highly complex scientific and IP law concepts into clear, concise, and business-focused recommendations for business stakeholders at all levels of the company.

Responsibilities

Create and implement strategies for global patent portfolios protecting scientific innovation and new therapeutic modalities that create durable value for the company’s R&D and commercial priorities.
Develop and implement value-creating IP strategies to protect AI related inventions and activities, navigating the intersection of AI and biology.
Drive initiatives to capture company inventions and innovation.
Counsel business stakeholders and executive leadership on freedom to operate analyses, patentability, and global regulatory exclusivities.
Implement strategies for clearance, prosecution and enforcement to ensure a robust global trademark portfolio.
Manage trademark misuse and infringement matters.
Manage copyright obligations and infringements issues, including advising the business on copyright fair use and licensing requirements.
Implement trade secret practices and protections.
Direct all IP litigations and adversarial proceedings.
Create and advise on tailored, value creating IP transactional strategies.
Lead IP due diligence and IP-related contract drafting and negotiations for licensing, acquisition, and other complex transactions.
Set standards and expectations for IP terms in licensing and other agreements.
Review and negotiate terms as needed in partnership with Procurement and other business stakeholders.
Identify, assess, and communicate IP risks to business stakeholders.
Align on and implement solutions to address IP risks.
Partner effectively across all business departments and within the Legal and Compliance team to ensure that IP is effectively understood, protected and managed.
Stay at the forefront of the evolving global IP laws and advise the business proactively on opportunities and risks.
Set department goals for the IP team and establish clear measurements to ensure alignment with company goals and timely and thorough delivery.
Hire, develop and retain a top intellectual property team with a culture of high performance and high integrity.
Create and manage agile IP operations that maintains meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy in legal research, documentation, and compliance in a fast-paced environment.
Manage outside counsel performance and budget effectively.