Patent Counsel

Alembic; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Premium health benefits

Meaningful equity

Job summary

A cutting-edge AI firm in San Francisco is seeking a Technical Patent Attorney to protect innovations in causal AI and HPC optimization. In this role, you will work directly with scientists and engineers, managing patent applications and strategizing to safeguard proprietary technology. Ideal candidates will have a degree in Computer Science or a related field, and 4-8 years of relevant experience, along with strong programming skills in Python or C++. The firm offers competitive salary and premium benefits as part of a collaborative and innovative environment.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of experience at a top-tier firm or in-house.
• Registered Patent Attorney (J.D.) or experienced Patent Agent.
• A track record of winning Section 101 battles in AI/Software.

Responsibilities

• Identify patentable breakthroughs in causal AI.
• Lead strategy for protecting proprietary technology.
• Draft and manage patent applications.

Skills

Python/C++ programming

Understanding of complex technical architectures

Experience with USPTO processes

Strategic legal thinking

Education

Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or Math

Job description

About Alembic

Alembic is solving one of AI's defining challenges: proving cause and effect in proprietary enterprise data at scale. While generic models converge in capability, we're building the systems that process private corporate data to answer questions ChatGPT cannot—connecting marketing exposure to revenue, operations to outcomes, strategy to results.

Our customers include Nvidia, Delta Air Lines, Mars, and leading Fortune 500 companies making multi-million dollar decisions with our platform. The technical demands were so extreme we literally melted GPUs building this, which is why we're now operating one of the world's fastest private supercomputers. Backed by $145M from Prysm Capital, Accenture, and Silver Lake Waterman, we're scaling the team redefining enterprise competitive advantage in the age of AI. We work 5-days onsite at our SF SoMa HQ.

About The Role

We don’t believe in "legal vs. engineering." At Alembic, IP is a core part of our engineering culture. We are seeking a tech-native Patent Attorney or Senior Patent Agent who wants to trade the billable hour for a seat at the supercomputing table.

You won’t be sitting in an office waiting for disclosure forms; you will be in the codebase, working alongside our scientists and engineers to ensure our causal inference breakthroughs and SNN (Spiking Neural Network) architectures are defensible, timestamped, and protected.

What You’ll Do

• Code-Level IP Harvesting: Dive into our repos and PRs to identify patentable breakthroughs in causal AI and HPC optimization before they are even shipped.
• Build the "Causal Moat": Lead the strategy for protecting our proprietary technology and custom causal algorithms.
• Forensic Documentation: Implement rigorous "defensibility hygiene"—ensuring appropriate timestamps, version-controlled records of invention, and clear human-inventorship trails.
• End-to-End Prosecution: Draft and manage high-quality patent applications, acting as the primary bridge between our technical "magic" and the USPTO.
• Portfolio Strategy: Manage our global IP portfolio, working with our technical experts to decide what to patent vs. what to keep as a trade secret to stay ahead of "generic" AI models.

Who You Might Be...

• Technically Lethal: You can read Python/C++ or follow a complex technical architecture diagram. You likely have a degree in CS, EE, Physics, or Math.
• The "Recovering" Specialist: You have 4–8 years of experience at a top-tier firm or in-house. You’re over the partner-track grind and want to be a builder.
• USPTO Registered: You are a registered Patent Attorney (J.D.) or a highly experienced Patent Agent with a track record of winning Section 101 battles in AI/Software.
• Strategic & Fast: You understand that in a startup, speed is a feature. You can deliver high-quality work without the "big law" lag.

Why This is a Rare Opportunity

This is not a traditional "back-office" legal role. This is an invitation to be a builder at the absolute frontier of causal AI. Most attorneys spend their careers documenting the past; at Alembic, you are architecting the future of a multi-billion dollar moat from the ground floor.

We offer a competitive salary, premium health benefits, and meaningful equity that ensures you are a true partner in our success. If you are tired of the billable hour and ready to apply your legal prowess to a world-class supercomputing stack, we want to hear from you. Join us and help protect the technology that is redefining enterprise intelligence.