Managing Director (In-house Patent Services)

Swatch Group; Neuenburg; On-site; CHF 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Swatch Group's I·C·B Ingénieurs Conseils en Brevets SA in Neuchâtel seeks a Managing Director to lead the patent department as an autonomous service organization, defining strategic vision and aligning with Group innovation goals. The role manages budgets and resources across patent lawyers and staff, shaping costing structures and performance indicators.

You will build partnerships with internal stakeholders, mentor teams, ensure compliance, and oversee drafting, filing and enforcement of the

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in patent strategy, portfolio management, innovation protection, and IP risk assessment in an international environment.
• Proven experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, driving performance and managing change.
• Excellent strategic thinking, business acumen, and stakeholder management with executive influence.
• Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building across diverse cultures and environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the patent department as an autonomous service organization.
• Define and implement the department's strategic vision aligned with Group innovation objectives.
• Manage the department's budget, ensuring financial sustainability and cost-efficiency.
• Develop internal costing structures, billing practices and performance indicators.
• Optimize resource allocation and workload planning across patent attorneys and staff.
• Drive continuous improvement of processes, tools and service quality.
• Build strong partnerships with internal stakeholders and promote IP services value.
• Instruct, monitor and benchmark external providers and competitors.
• Mentor, develop and recruit team members for long-term expertise.
• Ensure compliance with legal, ethical and professional standards.
• Provide IP services for patents to all Group companies.
• Protect innovations across Group companies.
• Draft, file and prosecute patent applications worldwide.
• Handle oppositions, risk and validity assessments.
• Manage licensing and patent enforcement.
• Report to the Extend Management Board member.

Skills

Strategic patent leadership

Portfolio management

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Education

University degree in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Microtechnology, or related

Job description

The Company Swatch Group is the world's number one manufacturer of finished watches. With its 16 watch brands, the Group is present in all price segments and is also active in the manufacture and sale of jewelry, watch movements and components.

The Company Swatch Group is the world's number one manufacturer of finished watches. With its 16 watch brands, the Group is present in all price segments and is also active in the manufacture and sale of jewelry, watch movements and components. Swatch Group unites, among other companies, the following watch brands under its roof: Breguet, Harry Winston, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Jaquet Droz, Omega, Longines, Rado, Union Glashütte, Tissot, Balmain, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Swatch and Flik Flak. The Group has a strong distribution and multi-brand retail net with two sophisticated boutiques under the name of Tourbillon and Hour Passion. Swatch Group is also an important player in advanced nanomechanical, nanoelectronic and Bluetooth technologies essential to watchmaking and other industries with extensive R&D activities in various technical fields. I·C·B Ingénieurs Conseils en Brevets SA is a 100% affiliated company of The Swatch Group Ltd that handles all patent related matters and manages a large patent portfolio including several thousand patent families. For its Neuchâtel office, I·C·B Ingénieurs Conseils en Brevets SA is recruiting a

Managing Director (100%)

Job Description

• Leading and managing the patent department as an autonomous service organization
• Defining and implementing the department’s strategic vision aligned with Group innovation objectives
• Managing the department’s budget, ensuring financial sustainability and cost-efficiency in a self-financed model
• Developing internal costing structures, billing practices and performance indicators
• Optimizing resource allocation and workload planning across patent attorneys and support staff
• Driving continuous improvement of processes, tools and service quality
• Building strong partnerships with internal stakeholders, promoting the value of intellectual property services within the Group
• Instructing, monitoring and benchmarking external providers and competitors to ensure competitive positioning
• Mentoring, developing and recruiting team members to ensure long-term expertise and performance
• Ensuring compliance with legal, ethical and professional standards
• Providing intellectual property services for patents to all companies of the Group
• Protecting the innovations made in the various companies of the Group
• Drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications in various countries throughout the world
• Oppositions, infringing risk and validity assessments
• Licence agreements and patent enforcement
• Reporting to the Extend Management Board member

Profile

• Strong expertise in patent strategy, portfolio management, innovation protection, and intellectual property risk assessment within an international environment
• Demonstrated experience in leading and developing multidisciplinary teams, driving organizational performance, and managing change initiatives
• Excellent strategic thinking, business acumen, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence decision-making at executive level
• Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-building capabilities across diverse cultural and business environments

Professional Requirements

• Qualified European Patent Attorney before the European Patent Office (EPO)
• University degree in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Microtechnology, or a related technical discipline
• Minimum of 15 years of proven experience in intellectual property, patent management, or a closely related field, including leadership responsibilities

Languages

• Fluent in French, German, and English