Patent & IP Counsel: Strategy & Open Source

Socotra, Inc.; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 176,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lyft credits

Lyft Pink membership

Commuter benefits

Parental leave 18 weeks

401(k) match

Paid time off

Mental health benefits

Child & pet benefits

Job summary

Lyft is seeking a Patent Counsel to lead the company’s patent function, advising on open source, reviewing public disclosures, and guiding IP strategy across engineering and business units.

You will report to the Senior Director, IP, and collaborate with engineers, researchers, and other lawyers to make patent law approachable while supporting Lyft’s global expansion and autonomous-vehicle initiatives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of patent prosecution experience
• Experience advising on open source license compliance
• Must be a member of the Patent Bar and understand patent law outside litigation
• Must be proactive, self-directed, organized with exceptional communication skills
• Adaptable with ability to shift between deep legal work and high-volume counseling
• Demonstrate comfort with AI tools in day-to-day work

Responsibilities

• Own the patent portfolio end to end: invention harvesting, disclosure meetings, portfolio mining, and directing patent filings with outside counsel
• Drive patent strategy and decisions based on technical merit and cost, manage portfolio health
• Counsel on open source license review and compliance risk for inbound/outbound OSS
• Review public disclosures for IP risk and confidentiality considerations
• Provide strategic portfolio advice and counsel stakeholders on IP protection globally
• Support IP diligence for partnerships, M&A, and vendor relationships
• Educate product and engineering teams on IP matters and build scalable tools and processes

Skills

Patent prosecution

Open source compliance

Patent Bar member

Communication skills

Cross-functional collaboration

AI fluency

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

BS/MS in CS/Engineering

Job description

Lyft is seeking a Patent Counsel to lead the company’s patent function, advising on open source, reviewing public disclosures, and guiding IP strategy across engineering and business units.

You will report to the Senior Director, IP, and collaborate with engineers, researchers, and other lawyers to make patent law approachable while supporting Lyft’s global expansion and autonomous-vehicle initiatives.