Intellectual Property (IP) Manager

UK Atomic Energy Authority; South Oxfordshire; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent pension

Bonus up to 7%

Generous leave entitlement

Site or flexible working options

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority is seeking an Intellectual Property Manager to lead IP activity for a key division, identifying, protecting and commercialising innovations in fusion energy.

You will work with technical and legal teams, external patent attorneys and commercial partners to manage invention capture, patent prosecution, and portfolio strategy.

Qualifications

• A degree in a scientific or engineering discipline with strong technical background.
• Chartered or European Patent Attorney qualification or significant in‑house IP experience.
• Experience leading patent drafting with inventors and external attorneys.
• Experience reviewing IP terms within contracts and providing strategic advice.
• Experience managing an IP portfolio and patent prosecution.
• Experience responding to patent office actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead IP activity for a UKAEA division, identifying and protecting innovations.
• Coordinate invention capture, patent drafting, and portfolio management.
• Advise teams on IP terms within third‑party agreements and collaborations.
• Collaborate with technical, legal, and external patent professionals.
• Support development of a pipeline of innovations with commercial potential.
• Deliver IP training to technical and business colleagues.

Skills

Patent drafting leadership

IP strategy

IP portfolio management

Contract IP terms

Patent prosecution

Prior art investigations

Education

Degree in scientific or engineering discipline

Chartered or European Patent Attorney qualification

Job description

• Salary: £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
• Division: Innovation and Business Development

Job Description

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 worldbadly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industryand research organisations to achieveground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the gridby 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.

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

We have a generous range of benefits (see the full listhere ) and highlights include:

• A salary of £71815 inclusive of specialist allowance
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of21.5% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave plus2.5 privilege days;8 Bank Holidays
• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break
• Flexible working options plus family-friendly leave provisions

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,inclusionand accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce.

Please email [emailprotected] if you have any questions or require adjustments to help youparticipatefairly in our recruitment process, for example changes to the way we interview or share information. 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 onmeritand further information can be foundhere .