Senior Patent Attorney | Upto $120/hr

mercor; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; GBP 89,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor is seeking an IP Expert specializing in patent and trademark work to join our remote, hourly contracting team. You will design realistic IP scenarios, draft responses, and help evaluate AI-generated outputs against expert rubrics.

Ideal candidates hold a bar admission or USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO registration, with 1–4 years of IP prosecution or litigation experience and a technical background in engineering, CS, life sciences, or chemistry. Immediate start and 20–40 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Registered patent agent or patent attorney with bar admission (USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO) or trademark prosecution experience.
• 1–4 years of IP prosecution or litigation experience.
• Bar admission or USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO registration in good standing.
• Technical background in engineering, computer science, life sciences, or chemistry for patent work.
• Excellent written communication with high attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Design realistic IP scenarios from your practice, including Office Action responses, prior art analysis, and patent drafting.
• Write high-quality, attorney-level responses.

Skills

IP prosecution

Patent/Trademark experience

Technical background in engineering/CS

Excellent written communication

Education

JD / LL.B. / LL.M. with bar admission (USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO)

Tools

PatSnap

Derwent

Google Patents

Job description

About the job

Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey .

Position

IP Expert — Patent / Trademark (Remote, Hourly)

Contract Type

Contract

Compensation

$85–$120/hour

Location

Remote

Commitment

20–40 hours/week

Role Responsibilities

• Design realistic IP scenarios from your practice, including Office Action responses , prior art analysis, and patent drafting.
• Write "golden" reference responses at attorney/agent-level quality.
• Grade AI-generated responses against structured rubrics.
• Provide written feedback to the research team to improve model behavior.
• Participate in onboarding office hours and specialty calibration sessions.

Qualifications

Must-Have

• Registered patent agent or patent attorney ( USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO ), or trademark prosecution experience with a J.D. or LL.B./LL.M.
• 1–4 years of professional experience in IP prosecution or litigation.
• Bar admission or USPTO/CIPO/UKIPO registration in good standing.
• Technical background in engineering, computer science, life sciences, or chemistry preferred for patent work.
• Excellent written communication skills with high attention to detail.

Preferred

• IP litigation experience (claim charts, invalidity analysis, Markman hearing prep).
• IP portfolio management experience.
• Inter Partes Review (IPR) or Post-Grant Review experience.
• Familiarity with patent analytics tools ( PatSnap , Derwent , Google Patents ).

Start Date

Immediately ; applications reviewed on a rolling basis.

Compensation & Legal

Hourly contractor

Originally posted on Himalayas