IP Counsel, Transactions

EngineersOfAI; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 335,000 - 385,000; Full time

Job summary

Anthropic in San Francisco seeks an experienced transactional attorney to lead IP workstreams in acquisitions and investments, partnering with M&A and Commercial Legal teams. You will conduct IP diligence, negotiate IP terms, and help scale playbooks for high-volume deals.

The role requires JD, substantial IP due diligence, first-chair negotiation of IP provisions, and ability to translate IP risk for business leaders while contributing to AI-related IP strategy and open source

Qualifications

• Hold a law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and meet the local licensing requirements to work as in-house counsel where you'll be based
• Have substantial experience leading IP due diligence and negotiating IP terms in technology M&A
• Have first-chair experience negotiating IP provisions in complex commercial technology agreements
• Communicate IP risks clearly to business leaders and non-specialist lawyers
• Strong knowledge of open source licensing and trade secret protection

Responsibilities

• Lead the IP workstream on acquisitions and strategic investments, from diligence through letters of intent, definitive agreements, closing, and integration, alongside M&A counsel and outside counsel
• Partner with commercial counsel on IP aspects of complex enterprise, partnership, research collaboration, and vendor agreements
• Serve as the primary IP terms contact for commercial colleagues and help train them to resolve IP questions
• Drive playbooks, templates, and processes for IP terms across a high volume of deals
• Contribute to broader IP strategy, including open source, trade secrets, patents, or new business models

Skills

IP due diligence

Negotiating IP terms

Open source licensing

Strategic advising

Stakeholder communication

Education

JD or equivalent law degree

Job description

About Anthropic

Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced and strategic transactional attorney to join the IP team within our growing legal department. In this role, you will be responsible for the IP side of Anthropic's transactions, partnering with the M&A and commercial counsel who lead each deal. You will conduct IP diligence and negotiate IP terms for our acquisitions and investments, help advise on IP terms in our most complex commercial and research agreements, and drive the playbooks and processes that make our processes scalable. You will partner closely with the Head of IP (direct manager), our M&A and Commercial Legal teams, and Corporate Development on questions and issues that are very often new.

Responsibilities

• Lead the IP workstream on acquisitions and strategic investments, from diligence through letters of intent, definitive agreements, closing, and integration, alongside our M&A counsel and outside counsel

• Partner with commercial counsel on the IP aspects of complex enterprise, partnership, research collaboration, and vendor agreements, advising on and negotiating IP terms

• Serve as the primary point of contact on IP terms for commercial legal and other colleagues, and help train them so they can resolve more IP questions on their own

• Drive the playbooks, templates, and processes that let a lean team handle IP terms across a high volume of deals

• Contribute to broader IP strategy, particularly where transactions intersect with open source, trade secrets, patents, or new business models

Minimum qualifications

• Hold a law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and meet the local licensing requirements to work as in-house counsel where you'll be based

• Have substantial experience leading IP due diligence and negotiating IP terms in technology M&A

• Have first-chair experience negotiating IP provisions in complex commercial technology agreements, such as licenses, joint development agreements, and services agreements

• Have the ability to communicate IP risks and tradeoffs clearly to business leaders and non-specialist lawyers, and to exercise sound judgment about when to hold a position

• Have strong working knowledge of open source licensing, employee and contractor IP assignment obligations, and trade secret protection

Preferred qualifications

• 10+ years of transactional IP experience at a nationally recognized law firm, a technology company, or both

• Experience building negotiation playbooks, templates, or diligence processes that other lawyers relied on

• Experience with AI, machine learning, data licensing, or other emerging technology

• Curiosity about AI and a commitment to its responsible development

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.

For sales roles, the range provided is the role’s On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.

Annual Salary: $335,000 — $385,000 USD

Logistics

Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience

Required field of study:A field relevant to the role as dem