Senior IP Counsel

About the Team

OpenAI's Legal team plays a crucial role in furthering OpenAI's mission by tackling innovative, fundamental legal issues in AI. If you're passionate about doing significant and unique work as a technology lawyer, this team is for you. The team comprises professionals from diverse fields, including technology, AI, privacy, IP, corporate, employment, tax law, regulatory, and litigation.

About the Role

OpenAI is seeking an experienced Senior IP Counsel to join our Legal team. In this role, you will manage our portfolio of intellectual property assets, particularly patents and trademarks. You will provide our executive leadership and broader teams with legal and strategic guidance on IP issues. You’ll have a significant hand in how OpenAI navigates novel and nascent IP issues and influences the strategy for how we approach this long term.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Build, oversee, and manage our intellectual property portfolio.
• Identify and assess potential risks and devise risk mitigation strategies in IP-related matters.
• Guide the business on patent, trade secret, and trademark law and strategy.
• Draft, review, and negotiate IP-related agreements, such as licenses, joint development, and non-disclosure agreements.
• Coordinate with external legal counsel on IP filings, oppositions, and litigation.
• Deliver IP training to teams to promote awareness of IP issues.

You’ll likely enjoy this role if you:

• Bring 10+ years of IP knowledge and skills from a law firm and in-house experience
• Experience in AI or related technology sectors would be highly advantageous.
• Knowledge of open-source practices and software.
• Strong understanding of patent, trade secret, and trademark laws.
• Proven track record of managing complex IP portfolios.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to convey complex legal principles clearly and concisely.
• Ability to balance strategic and tactical issues.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional environment.
• JD degree from an accredited law school and membership in at least one state bar.

About the Interview Process

We expect to accept applications and conduct interviews through August, with onboarding occurring in September. The interview process for this role will primarily take place virtually and may include a written assessment.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. 

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

Compensation, Benefits and Perks

The annual salary range for this role is $300,000 – $365,000. Total compensation also includes generous equity and benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family
• Mental health and wellness support
• 401(k) plan with 4% matching
• Unlimited time off and 18+ company holidays per year
• Paid parental leave (20 weeks) and family-planning support
• Annual learning & development stipend ($1,500 per year)

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.

OpenAI US Applicant Privacy Policy