Intellectual Property Counsel

American Megatrends International India Pvt. Ltd.; Chennai District; On-site; INR 2,000,000 - 4,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Lattice Semiconductor seeks an Intellectual Property Counsel based in India to protect and manage the company’s IP portfolio, including patents and strategic agreements. You will collaborate with engineering and product marketing to align IP initiatives with product roadmaps and business goals.

You will draft, negotiate, and oversee technical contracts, SOWs, and collaborations while ensuring compliance with global patent systems and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Technical degree in Electrical or Electronics Engineering, Computer Science or related field.
• LLB (or integrated law degree) and enrollment or eligibility to enroll with a State Bar Council in India.
• 5–8 years of intellectual property experience, in-house at a tech or semiconductor company and/or at an IP law firm, including patent portfolio management and technical contracting.
• Experience selecting and managing outside patent counsel and foreign associates across multiple jurisdictions.
• Strong familiarity with US, European, Chinese, and PCT patent systems, and India’s Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules.
• Direct experience drafting and negotiating technical contracts, SOWs, and development or collaboration agreements in a technology or hardware setting.
• Ability to read and understand complex electrical, computer-hardware, and firmware or software inventions.
• Strong drafting, analytical, and negotiation skills with the ability to translate complex issues for business and engineering stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English; capable of working with globally distributed teams.
• Exceptional time management and attention to detail, with the ability to handle a varied, fast-moving workload.

Responsibilities

• Protecting the company’s inventions and securing IP protection through patent filings and other forms of IP.
• Drafting and negotiating technical contracts, SOWs, and development or collaboration agreements.
• Managing outside patent counsel and foreign associates across multiple jurisdictions.
• Maintaining IP records, docketing, and portfolio governance to align with business priorities.
• Advising on open source obligations and IP considerations in standards bodies and consortia.

Skills

Invention identification

Patent portfolio management

Contract drafting

Technical reading

English communication

Vendor/counsel management

Negotiation

Education

Engineering degree (B.E./B.Tech/M.Sc./M.Tech)

LLB or integrated law degree

Job description

Lattice Overview

Lattice Overview There is energy here…energy you can feel crackling at any of our international locations. It’s an energy generated by enthusiasm for our work, for our teams, for our results, and for our customers. Lattice is a worldwide community of engineers, designers, and manufacturing operations specialists in partnership with world-class sales, marketing, and support teams, who are developing programmable logic solutions that are changing the industry. Our focus is on R&D, product innovation, and customer service, and to that focus, we bring total commitment and a keenly sharp competitive personality. Energy feeds on energy. If you flourish in a fast paced, results-oriented environment, if you want to achieve individual success within a “team first” organization, and if you believe you can contribute and succeed in a demanding yet collegial atmosphere, then Lattice may well be just what you’re looking for.

Job Description: What Will You Get to Do?

Are you an intellectual property professional who thrives at the intersection of firmware, silicon, and business strategy? Do you want to help build and protect the IP foundation of a leading platform software and programmable semiconductor company with global reach? Our portfolio spans platform firmware, system management, and infrastructure security software for cloud, AI, and data-center systems, together with low power FPGAs and programmable logic. As Intellectual Property Counsel based in India, you will work closely with engineering and product marketing across two core areas: protecting the company’s innovation by capturing inventions and securing patent and other IP protection, and supporting the business by drafting and negotiating the technical contracts and statements of work that power our development, partner, and customer relationships.

You’re Good At – The Ideal Candidate Has Extensive Experience With the Following:

• Invention Identification and IP Strategy: Partnering with engineering and product marketing to identify and evaluate inventions, assess patentability and business value, and decide what, where, and how to protect innovation through patent filings and other forms of IP, aligned to product roadmaps and company objectives
• Worldwide Patent Counsel Management: Selecting, directing, and managing outside patent counsel and foreign associates across all major jurisdictions to prepare and prosecute the company’s patent filings, owning filing strategy, quality, timelines, docketing oversight, and cost to ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes worldwide
• Freedom-to-Operate and IP Risk: Directing freedom-to-operate, clearance, and patent-landscape analyses and invalidity and non-infringement opinions through outside counsel, monitoring competitive patent activity, and advising teams on managing risk and designing around third-party rights
• Technical Contracts and Statements of Work: Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the full range of technical and commercial agreements, including statements of work (SOWs), master service, development, and collaboration agreements, non-disclosure, evaluation, and license agreements, and supplier and vendor contracts, structuring IP ownership, licensing, and confidentiality terms to protect the company while enabling the business
• IP Portfolio Operations and Governance: Keeping the internal portfolio well managed by maintaining accurate IP records and docketing oversight, running inventor recognition and awards programs, preparing portfolio reporting and metrics for leadership, and supporting IP goal setting and budget planning so the portfolio stays aligned with business priorities
• Broader IP Protection: Overseeing the company’s trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights, advising on open source software license obligations (GPL, LGPL, MIT, BSD, Apache 2.0, and others) as they apply to hardware, firmware, and platform software products, and managing IP considerations in the company’s participation in industry standards bodies and consortia
• AI, Tools, and Data Protection: Advising on the company’s approach to artificial intelligence, including the evaluation and selection of AI tools and the terms that govern their use, and providing guidance on data protection and privacy matters generally

You Have:

• A technical degree (B.E./B.Tech/M.Sc./M.Tech or equivalent) in Electrical or Electronics Engineering, Computer Science or Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field
• An LLB (or integrated law degree) and enrollment, or eligibility to enroll, with a State Bar Council in India
• At least 5 to 8 years of intellectual property experience, in-house at a technology or semiconductor company and/or at an IP law firm, including patent portfolio management and technical contracting
• Demonstrated experience selecting and managing outside patent counsel and foreign associates across multiple jurisdictions
• Strong familiarity with the U.S., European, Chinese, and PCT patent systems, together with working knowledge of India’s Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules
• Direct experience drafting and negotiating technical contracts, SOWs, and development or collaboration agreements in a technology or hardware setting
• Demonstrated ability to read and understand complex electrical, computer-hardware, and firmware or software inventions
• Strong drafting, analytical, and negotiation skills, with the ability to translate complex legal and technical issues into clear, actionable guidance for business and engineering stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English, and the ability to work effectively with globally distributed teams and time zones
• Exceptional time management, high attention to detail, and the ability to manage a varied, fast-moving workload independently

Additional Information:

This position requires a successful background and reference checks and satisfactory proof of your right to work in: India Lattice recognizes that employees are its greatest asset and the driving force behind success in a highly competitive, global industry. Lattice continually strives to provide a comprehensive compensation and benefits program to attract, retain, motivate, reward and celebrate the highest caliber employees in the industry. Lattice is an international, service-driven developer of innovative low cost, low power programmable design solutions. Our global workforce, some 1,000 strong, shares a total commitment to customer success and an unbending will to win. For more information about how our FPGA, CPLD and programmable power management devices help our customers unlock their innovation, visit www.latticesemi.com. You can also follow us via Twitter, Facebook, or RSS.

At Lattice, we value the diversity of individuals, ideas, perspectives, insights and values, and what they bring to the workplace. Applications are welcome from all qualified candidates. At Lattice, our core values aren’t just something we look for in candidates – they’re something we actively cultivate and live by every day.

GROWTH

We foster a culture where everyone strives for continuous learning and development. We challenge ourselves to boldly deliver exceptional growth and value for customers and shareholders.

RELIABILITY

Our customers trust us to deliver, and we take that responsibility seriously. By committing ourselves to dependable supply, support, and solutions, we build strong collaboration that lasts and thrives.

EXECUTION

Innovation turns great ideas into results. Together, we create differentiated products and solutions through disciplined planning, decisiveness, and timely delivery with uncompromising quality.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We own our actions and outcomes: holding ourselves to the highest standards, agilely adapting to change, delivering on our commitments, and empowering each other to drive our success.

TRANSPARENCY

Openness builds trust. We lead with integrity and candor, facing hard facts and embracing tough conversations with clear communication, decisive action, and open honesty at every level.

Lattice is strengthening

Lattice is strengthening is leadership in compute, communications, industrial, and embedded markets – underscored by multiple award wins that recognize its innovation, leadership, workplace culture, and collaboration-driven solutions. Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC) is the low power programmable leader. For over 40 years, Lattice has driven innovation in the semiconductor industry. Our compact, power-efficient field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are essential to building a secure, intelligent, and connected world. Lattice is the #1 supplier of small FPGAs worldwide, with the largest installed base in the industry. Our solutions are trusted by over 11,000 customers globally, spanning the compute, communications, industrial, and embedded markets. Founded in 1983 in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, Lattice has grown into a global leader with a passionate team dedicated to pushing the boundaries of programmable logic and fostering a culture of innovation.

Headquartered

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon with major operations in San Jose, California, Shanghai, China, and Manila, Philippines.