Intellectual Property Attorney

HP • Houston, TX

6d • Onsite

About The Position

HP is seeking an Intellectual Property Attorney to support the strategic development, optimization, and transactional use of HP's global patent portfolios. This role provides specialized legal advice and strategic counsel in intellectual property matters, identifies legal risks, and partners with engineers, business stakeholders, and cross-functional legal teams to advance HP's technology development, commercialization, and risk management objectives. This position is in and will report into HP’s global IP team. The successful candidate will combine strengths in patent portfolio strategy and management, IP related transactions and negotiations, and operational excellence. The role is expected to work independently on moderate to high complexity matters, contribute to projects that impact multiple teams, and share specialty knowledge across the legal organization.

Requirements

• Qualified Patent Attorney (e.g. US or European).
• Appropriate technical degree (preferably in electrical engineering, computer science, physics, or a closely related technical field).
• 4-7 years of legal experience supporting IP in a high‐technology environment, preferably including experience providing IP legal support for global R&D teams and businesses.
• Team player with excellent collaborative and influencing skills.
• Strong understanding of applicable patent laws, patent portfolio management, IP licensing constructs, IP ownership, and corresponding risk mitigation.
• Experience with standards setting, standards organizations, and standards essential patents.
• Prior in-house experience at a global technology company or law firm experience advising global technology companies.
• Experience supporting IP-sensitive transactions involving customers, suppliers, partners, competitors, M&A, joint development, or government-funded development.

Responsibilities

• Partner with R&D teams to guide invention disclosures and patent strategy toward high-value, business-aligned outcomes.
• Manage and advise on assigned patent portfolios across defined technologies or business units, including invention harvesting, filing strategy, prosecution oversight, maintenance, and abandonment decisions.
• Apply legal judgment to portfolio optimization by evaluating patent family strength, remaining term, geographic coverage, enforceability, competitive relevance, and business alignment.
• Manage outside counsel on prosecution, portfolio, transactional, and specialty matters, ensuring quality, efficiency, and alignment with legal strategy.
• Prepare and present portfolio reviews, strategic recommendations, written reports, legal memos, and risk assessments for internal stakeholders.
• Monitor specialty-specific changes in laws, regulations, industry practices, and standards-related developments to help keep patent portfolio practices current.
• Advise on and negotiate key IP terms, including licensed patent scope, fields of use, exclusivity, prosecution and enforcement rights, confidentiality, indemnification, termination, ownership, and commercialization rights.
• Draft, review, and as needed negotiate IP-related agreements, including supplier and customer agreements with patent or IP provisions as well as patent licenses, cross-licenses, technology development and collaboration agreements.
• Coordinate with commercial attorneys and other legal specialists to integrate IP provisions into broader business agreements.
• Support IP due diligence by mapping patent portfolios to products, technologies, standards, and transaction objectives.
• Identify, analyze, and resolve complex intellectual property legal issues using sound judgment and creative problem-solving.
• Lead or contribute to moderate to high complexity projects, delivering clear written analyses and supporting operational and strategic plans.
• Attend and participate in relevant workshops, seminars, and training sessions to deepen specialty expertise and share knowledge with other team members.
• Contribute to the management of litigation or dispute-related matters.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Long term/short term disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Life insurance
• Generous time off policies, including; 4-12 weeks fully paid parental leave based on tenure
• 11 paid holidays
• Additional flexible paid vacation and sick leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior