Intellectual Property (IP) Manager

Fusion Energy Base; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 68,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £71,815 incl specialist Allow.

Up to 7% bonus

Final salary pension 21.5% employer

25 days leave + 2.5 days privileges

8 Bank Holidays

3-site closure over Christmas

Flexible working options

Job summary

UKAEA is seeking an Intellectual Property Manager to lead IP activities for a key division, identifying and protecting innovations in fusion energy and guiding commercialisation efforts. You will work with technical and legal teams, external patent attorneys and partners to manage invention capture, patent prosecution and IP strategy across a diverse portfolio.

You will contribute to a robust IP pipeline, provide strategic IP advice, and help raise awareness of IP across the organisation through

Qualifications

• A degree in a scientific or engineering discipline.
• Chartered or European Patent Attorney qualification or significant IP experience.
• Experience leading patent drafting with inventors and attorneys.
• Experience reviewing IP terms in contracts.
• Experience managing an IP portfolio.
• Experience with patent prosecution and office actions.

Responsibilities

• Review invention disclosures and advise on protection strategies.
• Lead patent drafting strategies with inventors and external patent attorneys.
• Conduct prior art searches and landscape investigations.
• Align IP strategies with the wider business plan for each project.
• Manage a broad IP portfolio including prosecutions.
• Advise teams on IP terms within third-party agreements.
• Capture and record strategic IP assets and protection plans.
• Support development of a pipeline of innovations with commercial potential.
• Raise IP awareness through training for technical and business colleagues.

Skills

Patent drafting leadership

IP strategy advisory

Contracts IP terms review

Education

Bachelor's degree in science or engineering

Chartered or European Patent Attorney qualification or in-house IP experience

Tools

Patent prosecution experience

Prior art search & landscape analysis

Job description

Intellectual Property (IP) Manager

About us

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

About the job

As Intellectual Property Manager, you will lead IP activity for a key UKAEA division, helping to identify, protect and commercialise innovations in fusion energy. You will work closely with technical and legal teams, external patent attorneys and commercial partners. This broad role covers invention capture, patent prosecution, strategic portfolio management and IP advice.

What You’ll be Doing

• Review invention disclosures and advise on the most appropriate protection strategies.


• Lead patent drafting strategies, working with inventors and external patent attorneys.


• Conduct prior art searches and patent landscape investigations to identify IP risks and opportunities.


• Work with technical and innovation leads to align IP strategies with the wider business plan for each project or innovation.


• Manage a broad and technically diverse IP portfolio, including patent and trademark prosecution.


• Advise teams across UKAEA on IP terms within third-party agreements.


• Capture and record strategically important IP assets and develop appropriate protection strategies.


• Support the development of a pipeline of innovations with commercial potential.


• Raise awareness of IP across UKAEA by delivering training and providing guidance to technical and business colleagues.

What You’ll Bring

• A degree in a scientific or engineering discipline, supported by a strong technical background.


• Part or full qualification as a Chartered or European Patent Attorney, or significant experience within an in-house patent or IP team.


• Experience of leading patent drafting strategies alongside inventors and external patent attorneys.


• Experience of reviewing and providing strategic advice on IP terms within contracts.


• Experience of managing an IP portfolio.


• Experience of patent prosecution and responding to patent office actions.

Benefits

• A salary of £71,815 inclusive of specialist allowance


• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus


• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution


• 25 days annual leave plus 2.5 privilege days


• 8 Bank Holidays


• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break


• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions

Employment details

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. We actively support flexible working arrangements where this is compatible with the role.

Type of Employment Full-time

Site Location UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Reference Number REF4534H

Our commitment to ED&I

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment experience for all candidates.

We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit and further information can be found here.

Programme Department Innovation Unit Discipline Engineering

Additional Information