Head of Intellectual Property – San Francisco, CA or New York, NY (Possible Remote) (940-SLS)

About the position Our client, a category-defining health and performance technology company, has exclusively retained Solutus Legal to assist the founders and executives in their search for the company’s first attorney and Head of Intellectual Property. Our client is seeking a passionate, aggressive, and skilled IP lawyer who will report to the company’s CFO. This is a highly critical role at a highly critical time in the company’s growth. This attorney will own and manage all IP efforts on a global scale across the company’s suite of hardware, software, and other products. You will partner closely with the CEO, CFO, and heads of R&D and Operations to develop a proactive global IP strategy across its product portfolio. You will be responsible for harvesting new IP, submitting new filings, and responding to office actions. In addition, you will be the main point of contact with external legal counsel and will manage the IP budget. There is an in-office requirement (days vary whether you are in San Francisco or New York). Our client will consider a remote arrangement on a limited basis for candidates with material logistical challenges. This is an incredible and rare opportunity to join a category-defining technology company at a pivotal moment in its evolution and to build the intellectual property function from the ground up. The role offers direct exposure to the founders and executive leadership team, meaningful ownership over a global IP strategy that sits at the core of the company’s products, and the chance to shape long-term enterprise value at scale. For an ambitious IP attorney who wants both strategic influence and hands-on impact, this role presents a unique platform for growth. Solutus Legal Search is proud to have been exclusively retained to assist our client with this important engagement.Resumes submitted directly to the company will be forwarded to Solutus Legal Search for evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the company’s global IP strategy across patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
• Manage the preparation, filing, and prosecution of patent and trademark applications, leveraging external counsel where appropriate.
• Conduct FTO, prior art, and clearance analyses to support product development and commercialization.
• Oversee IP due diligence for strategic partnerships and other business transactions.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice on IP matters, including risk assessment and enforcement strategy.
• Support global brand protection, including domain management and enforcement against infringement or counterfeiting.
• Oversee broader legal issues including employment law, commercial partnerships and vendor agreements.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, automation, and operational excellence within the function.

Requirements

• J.D. degree and active membership in at least one US state bar and eligibility to obtain registered in-house counsel status (if required by the State Bar in the assigned work location).
• 5–10 years of legal experience as a practicing attorney, including at least 2–4 years at a Tier 1 law firm.
• Strong experience with patent/IP litigation, prosecution, portfolio management, and global IP strategy in the technology sector, preferably with some consumer hardware experience.
• Experience with commercial agreements and partnerships.
• Excellent communication and demonstrated ability to operate proactively, collaborate, and build cross-functional relationships with legal and business partners.
• Experience managing outside counsel and coordinating global IP protection strategies.
• A hands-on, self-starter mentality with the ability to operate independently, identify opportunities, and drive initiatives forward with minimal direction.
• Strong interpersonal skills, go-getter style and mentality, responsive, smart, proactive.

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