Head of Intellectual Property
About The Position
Our Legal team protects and compounds the value of everything 1X invents - the robotics, AI, and hardware breakthroughs that make a safe home humanoid possible. As our first dedicated intellectual property hire, you will stand up the function from the ground up, do the work hands-on, and build a team only as our milestones demand it. Few companies offer the chance to build an intellectual property portfolio this foundational, this early, in a field this new. The mission of this role is to build and execute 1X's intellectual property strategy from the ground up - turning our breakthroughs in robotics and embodied AI into a defensible portfolio of patents and trade secrets that protects our freedom to operate, deters competitors, and compounds enterprise value as we ship NEO at scale. As our first intellectual property hire, you will do the work yourself today and build the team as our milestones warrant it.
Requirements
- Demonstrated track record of building and managing patent portfolios in hardware, robotics, AI, or another deep-tech domain (typically 10+ years in intellectual property, in-house or at a top firm)
- Hands-on patent expertise - drafting, prosecution strategy, and portfolio management - for complex technical inventions
- Proven ability to run patent landscaping, freedom-to-operate analysis, and competitive assessments to inform offensive and defensive decisions
- Experience setting trade secret protection strategy alongside patents in a technical organization
- A technical degree (engineering, computer science, or a related field) with a working understanding of robotics, AI, mechatronics, or comparable systems
- Experience partnering directly with engineering and product teams to capture inventions at the source
- Deep technical fluency in hardware, AI, or robotics - able to sit with engineers, grasp novel inventions, and translate them into strong, enforceable claims
- A hands-on operator who drafts and shapes patents directly and protects trade secrets, not only by delegating to outside counsel
- A strategic portfolio builder who ties every intellectual property decision to a business outcome - freedom to operate, competitive moats, and acquisition strategy
- A strong cross-functional partner who earns trust with engineers, executives, and external counsel alike
- Comfort building from zero in ambiguity - setting prioritization and process where none exists, and scaling a team only when the work demands it
Nice To Haves
- Experience with intellectual property in humanoid robotics, autonomous systems, or embodied AI
- Registered to practice before the USPTO (patent bar), as a patent agent or patent attorney
- Familiarity with trademark, brand, copyright, and open-source compliance strategy
- Experience building an inventor disclosure and incentive program
- Experience managing international filing strategy (PCT and priority markets)
Responsibilities
- Own and execute a company-wide patent roadmap that prioritizes 1X's most defensible and commercially critical inventions across robotics, AI, and hardware
- Drive invention capture by embedding directly with engineering, AI, and hardware teams to surface patentable technology early and convert it into high-quality filed patents
- Build a portfolio that protects 1X's freedom to operate and creates leverage against competitors, measured by filing velocity, grant rate, and coverage of our core technology
- Identify and recommend strategic patents to acquire - both offensively and defensively - through landscape and competitive analysis, and lead diligence on those acquisitions
- Establish a trade secret protection program and decide, invention by invention, what 1X protects through patents versus trade secrets
- Stand up the function hands-on, then build and grow the team as company and product milestones warrant - not on a fixed timeline
Benefits
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave
- 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%)
- Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options
- Commuter benefits (transit and parking)
- Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support
- Onsite snacks and catered lunches
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
