IP Counsel - AI & Digital Pathology Innovation

Roche; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 162,000 - 302,000; Full time

Job summary

Roche seeks an Intellectual Property Counsel/Agent to lead drafting and prosecution of patent applications in digital pathology, AI, and software. You will collaborate with R&D, data science, and engineering teams to capture inventions and shape global patent strategy across open‑source and cloud‑native platforms.

The role requires hands‑on patent work, management of outside counsel, and strong communication to translate complex algorithms into robust disclosures.

Qualifications

• 3–7+ years of hands‑on patent drafting, prosecution, portfolio strategy, and legal counseling focused on software, AI, ML, and computational biology.
• Registered to practice before the USPTO as a Patent Agent or Attorney; active US bar license required.
• B.S. is required; advanced degree in a quantitative field is a plus.
• Experience drafting and prosecuting software/AI patent claims; familiarity with DL frameworks and image analysis.
• Exceptional communication to translate complex algorithms into strong patent disclosures.

Responsibilities

• Directly draft high‑quality US and international patent applications covering core computer vision models and AI workflows.
• Prepare and file responses to Office Actions; conduct examiner interviews; manage prosecution before USPTO and foreign offices.
• Select, direct, and manage external counsel for drafting, prosecution, and portfolio projects.
• Formulate and execute global IP strategies for deep learning networks and diagnostic algorithms.
• Conduct FTO analyses and patentability studies for open‑source software and cloud‑native infra.
• Collaborate with software engineers, ML researchers, and pathologists to harvest inventions from foundation models and image analysis.

Skills

Patent drafting

Patent prosecution

AI/ML patents

Communication skills

Education

B.S. degree

MS/PhD in CS/Bioinformatics/CE/Math/Physics (plus)

Tools

Deep learning frameworks

Image analysis tools

Job description

Roche seeks an Intellectual Property Counsel/Agent to lead drafting and prosecution of patent applications in digital pathology, AI, and software. You will collaborate with R&D, data science, and engineering teams to capture inventions and shape global patent strategy across open‑source and cloud‑native platforms.

The role requires hands‑on patent work, management of outside counsel, and strong communication to translate complex algorithms into robust disclosures.