Senior Director, Intellectual Property

Travere Therapeutics • San Diego, CA

4d • $233,000 - $315,000 • Remote

About The Position

Be a part of a global team that is inspired to make a difference in the lives of people living with rare disease. At Travere Therapeutics, we recognize that our exceptional employees are vital to our success. We are a dedicated team focused on meeting the unique needs of rare patients. Our work is rewarding – both professionally and personally – because we are making a difference. We are passionate about what we do. We are seeking talented individuals who will thrive in our collaborative, diverse, fast-paced environment and share in our mission – to identify, develop and deliver life-changing therapies to people living with rare disease. We stick by our values centered on patients, courage, community, and collaboration to pursue our vision of becoming a leading biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the delivery of innovation and hope to patients in the global rare disease community. At Travere Therapeutics, we are in rare for life. We continue to courageously forge new paths as we move toward a common goal of elevating science and service for rare patients. The Senior Director Intellectual Property will be a member of the Legal Department, responsible for partnering with the Vice President, Intellectual Property in developing and executing on the company's intellectual property strategy, patent portfolio, business development activities, agreement support, regulatory exclusivity strategy, and IP risk management. This role will lead and independently manage significant intellectual property matters across patent portfolio management, IP-related drafting and negotiation of agreements, R&D counseling and invention capture, IP diligence, regulatory exclusivity matters, and IP litigation support. The successful candidate will be a well-rounded life sciences IP attorney who can operate with substantial autonomy on complex intellectual property matters while collaborating with the Vice President, Intellectual Property on enterprise-level strategic, litigation, budgetary, and risk-management decisions.

Requirements

• J.D. degree from a law school of recognized standing, with active membership and in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• Registration to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office required or strongly preferred.
• Bachelor's degree in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, or another relevant life sciences discipline required.
• Approximately 10+ years of relevant intellectual property experience, with significant in-house and/or law firm experience in the biopharmaceutical sector.
• Significant experience in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, or life sciences intellectual property.
• Strong experience with patent portfolio management, global patent prosecution, outside counsel management, and patent strategy.
• Experience supporting IP aspects of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements.
• Experience counseling R&D or technical teams on invention capture and patent protection.
• Strong knowledge of global IP laws, regulations, and patent office practices.
• Exceptional analytical, negotiation, drafting, and problem-solving skills.
• Clear alignment with and ability to exemplify Travere's core values: Patient-Inspired, Courageous, Community & Stronger Together.
• Demonstrated success working in a fast-paced, dynamic, and proactive culture while managing complexity and ambiguity with professionalism.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to multitask, prioritize, and manage shifting responsibilities in a dynamic, collaborative environment.
• Ability to build relationships that foster a cohesive, committed team environment and to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
• Responsive to business clients as a calm, accessible, reliable and trusted legal partner.
• Demonstrated judgement in independently managing complex intellectual property matters while partnering effectively with senior leadership on high impact strategic decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in chemistry, biology, or another related life sciences field strongly preferred.
• Experience with patent term extensions, market exclusive activities (e.g., pediatric, orphan drug), Orange Book / Purple Book listings, clinical trial postings, IND / NDA / BLA submissions, or related product development management matters preferred.
• Experience analyzing and supporting IP litigation, Hatch-Waxman / Paragraph IV matters, patent disputes, or enforcement strategy preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manage and advise on assigned patent portfolios, including patent strategy, prosecution, continuation practice, product development opportunities, and portfolio optimization.
• Work with outside counsel to support the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, and strategic development of patent applications in the United States and internationally.
• Review and provide input on office action responses, claim strategy, patent filings, portfolio reports, and prosecution recommendations.
• Support regular portfolio reviews to assess strengths, gaps, upcoming deadlines, competitive risks, and opportunities for additional protection.
• Collaborate with the VP, IP, outside counsel, and internal stakeholders to ensure patent strategies align with R&D, regulatory, commercial, and business development priorities.
• Monitor third-party patents, patent applications, publications, and competitive activity relevant to assigned programs.
• Provide IP support for drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements in collaboration with other members of the Legal Department.
• Advise on IP-related provisions in confidentiality agreements, research agreements, services agreements, license agreements, collaboration agreements, manufacturing/supply arrangements, and other strategic contracts.
• Lead intellectual property due diligence activities for business development, licensing, acquisition, collaboration, and strategic transaction opportunities.
• Prepare practical IP risk assessments and diligence summaries for Legal, Business Development, R&D, and executive stakeholders.
• Support integration of new assets into Travere's IP portfolio, including patent ownership review, prosecution strategy, patent family tracking, and outside counsel coordination.
• Work closely with R&D, clinical, regulatory, and other technical teams to monitor emerging data, new uses, formulations, methods, manufacturing improvements, publications, and other potentially protectable innovations.
• Review proposed publications, abstracts, posters, presentations, clinical trial postings, and other external scientific disclosures for IP, confidentiality, patent-filing, and product-protection implications, coordinating with R&D, Medical/Scientific Communications, Regulatory, outside counsel, and the VP, IP as appropriate.
• Lead invention identification, disclosure evaluation, and patent-filing strategy for assigned programs.
• Provide practical IP counseling to scientific and business teams to support product development, product planning, and protection of Travere's innovations.
• Support internal IP education and awareness to help teams recognize and preserve opportunities for IP protection.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to develop and execute patent term extension and regulatory exclusivity strategies supporting development and commercialization objectives., Orange Book / Purple Book considerations, pediatric exclusivity, orphan drug exclusivity, clinical trial postings, and related product development matters.
• Collaborate with Regulatory, Commercial, R&D, and Legal colleagues to align IP and exclusivity strategy with development and commercialization objectives.
• Monitor and advise on regulatory exclusivity issues relevant to assigned assets.
• Serve as a key legal and strategic advisor on intellectual property litigation, Hatch-Waxman matters, Paragraph IV challenges, and related disputes.
• Assist with patent analysis, file history review, technical support, document coordination, litigation strategy support, and outside counsel management.
• Help prepare privileged analyses, internal updates, and executive-level summaries regarding litigation risk, dispute strategy, and patent challenges.
• Coordinate with outside litigation counsel and internal stakeholders to ensure alignment between litigation strategy, prosecution strategy, regulatory strategy, and business objectives.
• Manage outside IP counsel on assigned matters to ensure high-quality, timely, business-oriented, and cost-effective work.
• Support budget tracking, invoice review, matter management, and outside counsel performance assessment for assigned matters.
• Help develop scalable IP processes, templates, trackers, and reporting tools.
• Maintain organized, accurate, and privilege-sensitive records for assigned IP matters.

Benefits

• premium health, financial, work-life and well-being offerings for eligible employees and dependents
• wellness and employee support programs
• life insurance
• disability
• retirement plans with employer match
• generous paid time off

What This Job Offers

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