Patent Counsel

QUALCOMM, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualcomm Incorporated in San Diego, CA is seeking a patent counsel to shape strategy and manage a global patent portfolio, aligning legal depth with Qualcomm’s technology leadership.

You will oversee outside counsel, draft responses, interview patent examiners, and perform infringement, clearance, and validity analyses, collaborating across jurisdictions.

This full-time onsite role demands a JD, bar admission, engineering background, and 2+ years in patent prep/prosecution or litigation.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctorate degree.
• 5+ years of relevant experience as counsel at a law firm or in-house.
• Active state bar license to practice law; willingness to register as in-house counsel with the California state bar.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• Juris Doctorate from ABA accredited law school.
• US: Admitted to a state bar in good standing.
• 2+ years of experience in patent preparation, prosecution, or litigation experience.
• Appropriately registered/licensed in candidate’s applicable jurisdiction.

Responsibilities

• Strategic portfolio management.
• Managing outside counsel.
• Drafting responses to official communications.
• Interviewing patent examiners.
• Infringement, clearance, patentability, and validity analyses.
• Collaborating with counsel across multiple jurisdictions to ensure compliance with local practices and laws.
• Legal analysis of products, licenses, standards, contracts, and potential acquisitions or investments.

Skills

Bar admission

Patent prosecution experience

Education

Juris Doctorate degree

Juris Doctorate from ABA accredited law school

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field

Job description

Company:

Qualcomm Incorporated

Job Area:

Legal Group, Legal Group > Patent Counsel

General Summary:

At Qualcomm, intellectual property is not a passive asset or an item on a checklist. Each patent reflects careful analysis, focused prosecution, and a clear connection to Qualcomm’s technology and business strategy. Because Qualcomm inventors continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, Qualcomm patent attorneys must do the same: build patent portfolios designed to protect innovation, support licensing opportunities, and generate meaningful revenue that can be reinvested in R&D.

This makes the Qualcomm Patent Department unique. We apply deep experience and care to develop high-quality, high-value patents that are meaningful to Qualcomm. We seek talented and motivated patent attorneys who can apply legal judgment, technical depth, and a collaborative mindset to build patents that are as robust and powerful as the products and technologies they protect.

Responsibilities:

• strategic portfolio management
• managing outside counsel
• drafting responses to official communications
• interviewing patent examiners
• infringement, clearance, patentability, and validity analyses
• collaborating with counsel across multiple jurisdictions to ensure compliance with local practices and laws
• legal analysis of products, licenses, standards, contracts, and potential acquisitions or investments

Location and Work arrangement:

This role requires full-time onsite work in San Diego, CA (5 days per week).

Minimum Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate degree.
• 5+ years of relevant experience as counsel at a law firm or in-house.
• Active state bar license to practice law. Applicants must be willing to register as in-house counsel with the California state bar if not already a member of the California state bar.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• Juris Doctorate from ABA accredited law school.
• US: Admitted to a state bar in good standing.
• 2+ years of experience in patent preparation, prosecution, or litigation experience.
• Appropriately registered/licensed in candidate’s applicable jurisdiction.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in patent preparation and prosecution, particularly related to System on Chip (SoC), processors (CPU, NPU, DSP, and/or GPU), memory design, packaging, transistors, semiconductor fabrication, or low power circuitry.
• 2+ years of engineering experience in electrical, communications, software, or related fields.
• 2+ years of managing a patent portfolio, including budgets.
• 2+ years of experience in patent litigation.

Equal Opportunity:

Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e-mail [e-mail] or call Qualcomm's toll-free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities. (Keep in mind that this email address is used to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. We will not respond here to requests for updates on applications or resume inquiries).

EEO Employer: Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or any other protected classification.

Compliance and confidentiality:

Qualcomm expects its employees to abide by all applicable policies and procedures, including but not limited to security and other requirements regarding protection of Company confidential information and other confidential and/or proprietary information, to the extent those requirements are permissible under applicable law.

Pay range and Other Compensation & Benefits:

$166,400.00 - $249,600.00

The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. Even more importantly, please note that salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants (employees on sales-incentive plans are not eligible for our annual bonus). In addition, our highly competitive benefits package is designed to support your success at work, at home, and at play.