Team Leadership: Manage, mentor, and further develop a team of experienced patent paralegals. This includes coordinating and balancing workloads, conducting performance evaluations, and fostering a collaborative, high-performing team environment. Patent Prosecution and Trademark Management: Oversee all aspects of U.S. and foreign patent prosecution, including the preparation, filing, and management of patent applications, responses to office actions, and related correspondence. Proactively manage operational aspects of the patent portfolio to ensure adequate protection of innovations while maintaining cost discipline and high quality. Also involves assisting attorneys with trademark prosecution, including preparing and filing applications with the USPTO, docketing, and communicating with foreign counsel. Docketing and Compliance: Oversee the entire IP docketing system, including patents and trademarks, ensuring meticulous accuracy and timely handling of all deadlines for filings, annuity payments, and correspondence with patent offices worldwide. Cross-Functional Coordination: Act as a key liaison between the Americas in-house legal team and global legal department, R&D departments, foreign associates, and outside counsel to gather necessary information and streamline processes. Process Improvement: Evaluate, recommend, and implement improvements to legal operations processes, workflows, and technology solutions to enhance team productivity and efficiency. Proactively identify areas for cost savings. Reporting: Generate and analyze reports on the status of patent applications, portfolio costs, and other key metrics for presentation to senior management. Regional Paralegal Support: Lend support to regional projects, including litigation and compliance efforts. Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience as a patent paralegal, with substantial prior in-house experience preferred. Experience in a managerial or supervisory role is required. Education & Certification: A bachelor's degree is required, and a paralegal certification is preferred. Technical Knowledge: Advanced knowledge of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rules and procedures is essential. Familiarity with international filing procedures (PCT) is also required. USPTO registration a strong plus. Systems Proficiency: Must be proficient with patent docketing systems and the USPTO electronic filing system, for example AppColl, Questel, Unycom. Experience with document management and contract lifecycle management systems is a plus. Communication Skills: Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills are required for effective collaboration with technical, legal, and business teams. Organizational Skills: Excellent organizational skills, keen attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities under pressure to meet deadlines are critical. Problem-Solving: Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a proactive, solution-oriented mindset. We are on a journey to create the best Infineon for everyone. This means we embrace diversity and inclusion and welcome everyone for who they are. At Infineon, we offer a working environment characterized by trust, openness, respect and tolerance and are committed to give all applicants and employees equal opportunities. We base our recruiting decisions on the applicant´s experience and skills.
