Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Provide leadership, mentoring, development, and priorities to IP staff under direct supervision to ensure customer groups are supported in all matters involving intellectual property management.
• Review invention disclosures and guide patenting decisions.
• Work with outside counsel in preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications.
• Investigate product development status and commercialization plans to develop patent filing strategies.
• Lead and supervise the IP support of new product development by with right to use analysis. 
• Investigate patent utilization, commercial offensive and defensive value to help make patent annuity/maintenance fee decisions
• Lead patentability, right to use and state of the art patent analyses.
• Lead and/or support third party business development M&A due diligence and integration as needed. 
• Initiate/Lead continuous improvement of the IP department's systems and procedures to ensure effective/ efficient operations.
• Support IP litigation team with aspects of patent assertions and defenses as needed.

Work location and travel

• This position is posted as hybrid.  Any location in proximity to Kalamazoo, MI office is preferred.
• Travel percentage up to 25%

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree required in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering/Science, or equivalent technical degree.  

Qualifications and Experience

• 10+ years experience managing intellectual property matters.
• 5+ years of experience managing direct reports preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in the medical device, medtech, or related industry that is highly regulated.
• Registration before the USPTO is strongly preferred.
• Experience and demonstrated expertise leading and managing all aspects of intellectual property including invention disclosures, IP harvesting, patent landscape, patent prosecution & preparation, right-to-use studies, and IP training.
• Demonstrated ability to work with the business to develop and execute on strategies aligned with the business initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead process improvements across a range of responsibilities. 
• Demonstrated leadership skills, ability to think strategically, communicate effectively, and influence others within and external to the Global Intellectual Property department.
• Exceptional responsibility, accountability, initiative, and demonstrated ability to make difficult decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, collaboratively, and inclusively. 
• Demonstrates and drives a commitment to integrity and accountability.
• Maintains highly sensitive and confidential information.