Head of Intellectual Property

Formlabs; Somerville (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity program

Healthcare coverage

401K matching

Parental leave

Sabbatical leave

Out-of-office plan

Parking & commuter benefits

On-site lunches

Professional development

Culture events

Unlimited 3D prints

Job summary

Formlabs is seeking an IP Counsel in Somerville, MA to own the patent portfolio strategy and guide global protection efforts. You’ll collaborate with R&D and inventors to shape future technology and expand beyond IP into corporate, commercial, and employment matters.

You will draft and prosecute patents with USPTO and international offices, manage outside counsel, and support litigation and licensing when needed. We value a proactive, generalist legal approach.

Qualifications

• J.D. and admission to at least one state bar, plus registration to practice before the USPTO (patent bar).
• Undergraduate degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, or a related technical field.
• Deep expertise in U.S. patent law, plus working knowledge of major international patent systems; experience with trademark and trade secret law.
• A track record in patent drafting, prosecution, and portfolio management, ideally where you can point to real decisions you made about what to file and what not to file.
• At least 3 years at a top-tier law firm focused on patent work.
• While you index on patent work, you’re excited about an expanded scope to learn to operate as a generalist, taking on whatever tasks the business requires.

Responsibilities

• Own patent portfolio value, not just volume: build metrics and criteria to determine what to file, maintain, or cut.
• Set global patent strategy across U.S. and international offices, with cross-border risk in mind.
• Draft, file, and prosecute patent applications with USPTO, EPO, CNIPA.
• Run FTO analyses, patentability assessments, and portfolio risk reviews.
• Partner with R&D to catch patentable inventions early, before lab notebooks get buried.
• Manage outside counsel across prosecution, opinions, and disputes to control cost and quality.
• Support IP litigation, opposition proceedings, and enforcement when needed.
• Contribute to manufacturing, vendor, and strategic commercial contracts as needed.
• Cover other general legal matters to help the business as a whole.

Skills

Patent strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Legal research

Negotiation

Communication

Education

J.D. degree with bar admission

Job description

IP Counsel

Department: Legal
Location: Somerville, MA (on-site)

About Formlabs:

A 3D printer is one of the most demanding machines you can build.

Lasers, optics, precision motion, thermals, airflow, materials handling, chemistry, sensing, controls, and software must all work at micron-scale precision, for thousands of layers, with almost no tolerance for error. Making that work reliably is an extraordinary engineering problem.

That’s what we do.

At Formlabs, we’re building 3D printers that are changing the way things get made. We have the smartest minds across every engineering discipline, and the technology they’re building is deployed at more than 50,000 industry leaders worldwide, including Apple, Google, Tesla, New Balance, and NASA.

Your Impact:

This role owns our patent portfolio strategy by building metrics to inform a global approach. You'll work closely with R&D and inventors who create new technologies to guide our future growth. Additionally, we operate as a lean legal team, so you'll have an exciting opportunity to expand beyond IP and advise business leaders globally on other areas of law, such as corporate, commercial, employment, and general litigation matters.

What You'll Do:

Own patent portfolio value, not just volume: build the metrics and criteria that determine what Formlabs patents, maintains, or cuts, and track cost against actual competitive value.

Set global patent strategy across the U.S. and internationally, weighing where protection is worth pursuing given Formlabs' cross-border risk.

Draft, file, and prosecute patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and international patent offices, including the European Patent Office (EPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).

Run freedom-to-operate (FTO) analyses, patentability assessments, and portfolio risk reviews to keep Formlabs building on solid ground.

Partner directly with R&D to catch patentable inventions early, before they're buried in a lab notebook.

Manage outside counsel across prosecution, opinions, and any disputes, keeping cost and quality in check.

Support IP litigation, opposition proceedings, and enforcement when they come up.

Step outside the patent portfolio to pitch in on key manufacturing, vendor, and supplier agreements, as well as other strategic commercial contracts.

Pick up other generalist legal matters as they surface, from trade compliance to general litigation support, so the legal team can work collaboratively and best support any area of the business that needs our help.

About You:

J.D. and admission to at least one state bar, plus registration to practice before the USPTO (patent bar).

Undergraduate degree in engineering, physics, mathematics, or a related technical field. You need to be able to read a claim chart and the underlying spec without a translator.

Deep expertise in U.S. patent law, plus working knowledge of major international patent systems; experience with trademark and trade secret law.

A track record in patent drafting, prosecution, and portfolio management, ideally where you can point to real decisions you made about what to file and what not to file.

At least 3 years at a top-tier law firm focused on patent work.

While you index on patent work, you’re excited about an expanded scope to learn to operate as a generalist, taking on whatever tasks the business requires. You thrive in an “every day is different” environment and enjoy the challenge of solving novel problems as they arise.

Comfortable working independently in a fast-moving, global company where you're juggling more than one live priority at a time.

Bonus Skills:

In-house legal experience at a hardware or hard-tech company.

Experience with Chinese manufacturing operations.

Experience with matters before the EPO and CNIPA.

Experience with global copyright law, commercial transactions, and licensing agreements.

Our Benefits & Perks:

Robust equity program to build future wealth through RSUs

Comprehensive healthcare coverage (Medical, Dental, Vision)

401K matching and access to financial advisors

Generous paid Parental Leave (up to 16 weeks)

Tenure-based paid Sabbatical Leave (up to 6 weeks)

Flexible Out of Office Plan – Take time when you need it

Ample on-site parking & pre-tax commuter benefits

Healthy on-site lunches, snacks, beverages, & treats

Regular sponsored professional development opportunities

Many opt-in culture events across our diverse community

And of course… unlimited 3D prints

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

Compensation:

Equity is a big part of the compensation package at Formlabs - every employee receives equity because everyone contributes to building the company. We have a lot of confidence in the products we’re building and the impact we’re making, and you should too.

Base pay is the other part of our compensation package, and it is carefully determined based on your skills, experience, and expected impact. Equity and base pay combine to make up your total compensation package at Formlabs.

The hourly base pay range for this role is:

$150,000—$225,000 USD