Senior Patent Specialist, Patent Agent

UT Southwestern Medical Center • Dallas, TX

3d

About The Position

The Senior Patent Specialist supports the Office of Technology Development (OTD) by managing the institution's intellectual property strategy by coordinating patent filings and managing key aspects of the patent portfolio. This position oversees legal invoice review, contract workflows, and prepares portfolio summaries to support commercialization efforts. It facilitates internal IP assessment meetings by organizing agendas, materials, and action items for decision-making.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Legal Studies, Business, Life Sciences, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 5 years of experience in patent prosecution support, IP portfolio management, or a comparable role.
• Strong skills in legal invoice review, budgeting, or financial reconciliation related to IP services.
• Ability to work independently, interpret prosecution strategy, and communicate with researchers and leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree or industry training in IP.
• Patent Agent
• 7 years of IP experience, ideally within a university tech transfer office, research institution, or corporate R&D organization
• Experience advising on or coordinating filing decisions, continuation strategies, or portfolio-level planning.
• Expertise with enterprise IP systems and data analytics tools for portfolio reporting with experience patent prosecution budgets.

Responsibilities

• Leads coordination to initiate new patent filings, ensuring accurate disclosure intake, inventor engagement, and alignment with institutional IP strategy.
• Oversees the legal invoice review process to ensure accuracy, adherence to engagement terms, and timely submission for payment.
• Investigates and resolves billing discrepancies by collaborating with internal accounting teams and external legal vendors, maintaining strong financial and vendor relationships.
• Monitors budget impacts of prosecution decisions and communicates cost considerations to Operations and leadership.
• Supports technology marketing and licensing efforts by preparing detailed patent portfolio summaries, prosecution status updates, and IP positioning materials.
• Participates in internal assessment committees, providing portfolio and prosecution insights to help guide filing decisions.
• Provides administrative and strategic support to internal IP assessment meetings, including agenda development, organization of materials, and precise documentation of meeting minutes and action items.
• Contributes to process improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing efficiency, data integrity, and workflow consistency across the IP and Operations functions.
• Ensures compliance with institutional policies, USPTO requirements, and IP data management standards.
• Performs other duties as assigned to support the mission, strategic initiatives, and daily operations of OTD.

Benefits

• PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
• 100%25 coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
• Paid Time Off, available day one
• Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
• Paid Parental Leave Benefit
• Wellness programs
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer

What This Job Offers

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