Senior Counsel - Intellectual Property

Chaos Industries; Washington, Los Angeles (District of Columbia, CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits: medical, dental, and

401k + company match

Free daily lunch onsite

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Job summary

CHAOS Industries, Inc. is seeking a senior intellectual property attorney to build and lead our IP legal function.

As our first dedicated IP counsel, you will own the strategy, protection, and management of the company’s intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. You will work with engineering, product, business leadership, and the Legal and Contracts teams to protect technology behind our products while supporting government and international

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.
• Substantial experience advising technology businesses on IP strategy and managing patent portfolios.
• Experience drafting and negotiating IP ownership and licensing provisions in commercial or development agreements.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS IP requirements and applying those rules to contracts.

Responsibilities

• Own the company’s IP strategy and portfolio, aligning protection with product roadmaps and business priorities.
• Lead invention harvesting and evaluation with technical teams, including patent filings and trade secret protection decisions.
• Manage outside counsel for domestic and international patent and trademark prosecution, including budgets and deadlines.
• Oversee trademark clearance, registration, maintenance, and enforcement.
• Establish processes for invention disclosures, IP ownership, confidentiality, and employee training.
• Advise on IP ownership and licensing provisions in development or technology agreements.

Skills

IP strategy

Portfolio management

Licensing negotiations

Technical translation

Outside counsel management

FAR/DFARS knowledge

Education

J.D. from an accredited law school

Engineering or scientific degree

Job description

Washington, District of Columbia, Los Angeles, California

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats.

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com .

Role Overview:

• CHAOS Industries, Inc. is seeking a senior intellectual property attorney to build and lead our IP legal function. As our first dedicated IP counsel, you will own the strategy, protection, and management of the company’s intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
• You will work closely with engineering, product, business leadership, and the broader Legal and Contracts teams to protect the technology behind our products while supporting commercial growth and sales to the U.S. Government and allied international governments. This is a hands‑on role for someone who enjoys getting close to the technology, making practical decisions, and building programs that engineers will actually use.

Responsibilities:

• Own the company’s IP strategy and portfolio, aligning protection, investment, and enforcement decisions with product roadmaps and business priorities.
• Lead invention harvesting and evaluation with technical teams, including decisions about patent filings, trade secret protection, and publication.
• Manage outside counsel responsible for domestic and international patent and trademark prosecution, including filing priorities, deadlines, budgets, and quality.
• Oversee trademark clearance, registration, maintenance, and enforcement.
• Establish practical processes for invention disclosures, IP ownership and assignments, confidential information, trade secrets, and employee training.
• Partner with Legal and Contracts on IP ownership, licensing, development agreements, supplier arrangements, and customer contracts.
• Advise on government contract IP provisions, including technical data and software rights, assertions, restrictive markings, development funding records, and negotiated licenses.
• Coordinate IP disputes and enforcement matters with outside counsel.
• Advise on third‑party technology and open‑source software use, and support IP diligence for acquisitions, investments, and strategic partnerships.
• Travel occasionally to company locations and business meetings, as needed.
• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar, with eligibility to practice in the role’s location.
• Substantial experience independently advising technology businesses on IP strategy and managing patent portfolios, including directing outside prosecution counsel.
• Demonstrated ability to work directly with engineers to identify inventions, assess commercial significance, and recommend appropriate protection.
• Experience managing trademark portfolios and advising on trade secrets, confidentiality, and IP ownership.
• Experience drafting and negotiating IP ownership and licensing provisions in commercial, development, or technology agreements.
• Working knowledge of FAR and DFARS intellectual property requirements, including rights in technical data and computer software, and experience applying those rules to contracts or internal processes.
• Ability to translate complex technical and legal issues into clear, practical recommendations and independently prioritize competing business needs.
• Experience establishing or improving IP processes and managing outside counsel budgets.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience as the first or lead IP attorney at a growing technology company.
• Experience in defense technology, aerospace, radar, robotics, autonomy, or related hardware and software businesses.
• An engineering or scientific degree.
• Experience negotiating government data rights licenses and advising on IP provisions in Other Transaction agreements.
• Experience with international IP portfolios, IP litigation, or acquisition‑related IP diligence.

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch while you're working onsite, fully‑stocked kitchen, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre‑IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 500+employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range: $250,000 to $300,000

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

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Please note this position does not necessarily require eligibility to obtain and maintain a Security Clearance.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in CHAOS Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service‑connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three‑year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.