Role overviewAs an IP Lawyer and Patent Attorney at e184, you will be the person who turns that science into protected, defensible IP. Not someone who manages outside firms from a distance, but the lawyer who sits next to the bench, understands the experiment and writes the claims. You will be our in-house lawyer: patents come first, and as we grow you will also be the person the team turns to when a legal question comes up.
What you'll do- Shape the strategy. Work with our scientists early and decide together what to patent, what to keep as a trade secret and what can be published.
- Write the patents. Judge what is patentable across our programs, then draft, file and prosecute the applications yourself - US first, then PCT and national phases.
- Know the landscape. Run prior-art searches, map the patents around our work, and tell us which third-party patents to watch, design around or challenge.
- Get inventorship right. Including the idea first sketched with an outside collaborator - and put the right assignments in place.
- Protect our IP in collaborations. Draft and negotiate the collaboration, sponsored research, material and data transfer agreements and NDAs behind our work with universities, hospitals and partners: who owns what, what gets published, how samples and data are used. Negotiate licenses when we need someone else's IP.
- Keep ownership clean. Make sure every invention made in our US and UK companies belongs where it should - employment, consulting and advisor agreements included.
- Be the first legal eyes. Review the IP, confidentiality and liability terms of our commercial agreements; spot export-control, data-protection and research-regulation questions; and work with outside corporate and tax counsel on equity and group-structure matters.
- Run outside counsel well. Keep track of what we have signed and committed to, and get the best out of outside firms - on time and on budget.
Core requirements- Hold a JD and are admitted to a US state bar. USPTO registration is strongly preferred (or you work closely with a registered practitioner).
- Have 5+ years of hands-on IP work for R&D-driven companies or research institutions, and have drafted and prosecuted patents yourself.
- Are at home with prior-art searches, inventorship questions, licensing and R&D agreements - NDAs, material transfer, sponsored research, collaboration and supplier agreements.
- Know your way around start-up equity - restricted stock, options, shareholder agreements - well enough to spot the issues.
- Know when a question needs outside counsel, and can explain the law to scientists without losing them.
- Enjoy being the only lawyer in the room in a small, fast-moving team, and are discreet with science nobody else has seen yet.
You'll stand out with- A life-science background - especially cell, developmental or reproductive biology, or stem cells. Physics or engineering is welcome too: we build sensors as well as cells.
- Cross-border experience (US and UK), and exposure to export-control or research-regulation questions.
Why e184?- Unrivaled impact: Your work directly enables technology that transforms human fertility and reproductive medicine.
- Full-spectrum growth: Gain exposure to the entire lifecycle of discovery. From screening to mechanistic validation.
- Best of both worlds: Experience the creative chaos of an early-stage startup with the stability of a well-capitalized company.
- Elite collaboration: Work alongside a world-class team who are as driven as you are.
The perks- Competitive salary + equity participation is considered
- State-of-the-art facility in Portland metro area
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and 401(k) with company match
- 20 days PTO + 11 paid holidays
