Senior Patent Counsel / Director, Intellectual Property

Our Value

Our Single Altos Value: Everyone Owns Achieving Our Inspiring Mission.

Diversity at Altos

Altos Labs has been named one of the Top 3 Biotech Companies and ranked for the second year on the Forbes 2026 Best Startups in America list. At Altos, exceptional scientists and industry leaders from around the world work together to advance a shared mission. Our intentional focus is on Belonging, so that all employees know that they are valued for their unique perspectives. We are all accountable for sustaining a diverse and inclusive environment.

What You Will Contribute To Altos

We are seeking a creative and engaged patent lawyer or patent agent to join a dynamic legal department. The person in this role will create and manage global patent portfolios that protect our groundbreaking innovations in cellular programming, computational biology, and ultimately novel transformative therapeutics for patients.

This position report to the Vice President, IP and is an onsite role in San Diego, California.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare, prosecute, and maintain global patent portfolios for various therapeutic modalities including small molecules, large molecules and gene therapy. Includes the drafting and filing patent applications, managing and successfully resolving patent office actions such as inter partes reviews, reexaminations, post grant reviews, and oppositions.
• Identify and evaluate data for patentability and invention capture.
• Conduct due diligence assessments and provide pragmatic and actionable advice based on those assessments.
• Counsel business stakeholders on freedom to operate analyses, patentability, and global regulatory exclusivities.
• Provide advice and counsel on trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks as needed.
• Review, draft, and negotiate IP terms in collaboration with transactional legal team.
• Identify, assess, and communicate IP risks to business stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain effective partnerships across the business and within the legal and compliance functions to provide advice, risk assessment, and strategy on IP matters.
• Maintain current knowledge of IP case law and emerging industry trends.
• Effectively manage outside counsel work product and budget.

Core Competencies

To succeed in our highly dynamic environment, the ideal candidate must demonstrate:

• High Integrity: You act with honesty, keep commitments, and take full accountability for your actions. You are a role model for our organizational values and adhere to ethical guidelines even under pressure.
• Dealing with Ambiguity: You thrive in the "grey areas." You effectively cope with change, shift gears comfortably, and make strategic IP decisions particularly when the underlying science or legal precedents are still emerging and undefined.
• Bias to Action: You willing to roll up your sleeves to get into the details and drive creative solutions, while also being able to think on the fly and enable fast decision making.
• Courage: You lean into smart risk taking and cutting-edge approaches to creating IP value. You embrace healthy conflict and do not shy away from difficult conversations.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: You are a natural bridge-builder, think pragmatically, and use sound judgment. You break down silos. You foster a culture of shared success and ensure IP is experienced as a strategic partner.

Qualifications

Education & Credentials

• PhD in Chemistry or related science.
• Registered before United States Patent and Trademark Office is required.
• If lawyer,
• Juris Doctorate from an ABA-accredited law school
• Admitted to California Bar or ability to qualify as Registered In-House Counsel.

Experience & Technical Skills

• 7+/12+ years of experience as patent prosecutor, preferably including law firm and industry experience.
• Experience in global pharmaceutical drug development and commercialization is required.

The salary range for San Diego

• Director, IP: $286,300 - $367,000

• #LI-NN1
• Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.

For UK applicants, before submitting your application

• Please click here to read the Altos Labs EU and UK Applicant Privacy Notice (bit.ly/eu_uk_privacy_notice)
• This Privacy Notice is not a contract, express or implied and it does not set terms or conditions of employment.