IP Counsel, Life Sciences Patents (AI)

Location: San Francisco, CA or New York City, NY. Hybrid policy: staff are expected to work from one of the offices at least 25% of the time; some roles may require more office time.

Annual salary: $335,000–$385,000 USD.

Company

Anthropic develops reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems intended to be safe and beneficial for users and society.

What you will do

• Manage U.S. and international patent strategy and filings for life sciences research, including invention harvesting, filing decisions, drafting oversight, prosecution, and outside counsel.
• Advise life sciences researchers and develop scalable patent guidance and processes for the company’s growing research activities.
• Determine inventorship for AI-assisted research and advise on inventor declarations and the duty of candor.
• Develop claim and filing strategies for biological and chemical inventions, platform technologies, and computational methods, addressing written description, enablement, eligibility, and obviousness.
• Coordinate with Research Legal and Communications on publications, preprints, presentations, and open-source releases, and advise on life sciences and biopharma agreements, patent diligence, and freedom-to-operate analyses.
• Anticipate legal developments affecting AI in life sciences and biopharma and provide strategic guidance to leadership.

Requirements

• Law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and compliance with local licensing requirements to work as in-house counsel where based.
• Degree or equivalent training in life sciences or chemistry, such as molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioengineering, or organic chemistry.
• Substantial hands-on experience drafting and prosecuting U.S. life sciences patent applications and directing foreign prosecution through local counsel.
• Lead responsibility for a patent portfolio, including budget and outside or foreign counsel management.
• Experience making inventorship determinations and resolving ownership questions in multi-party research arrangements, including work with universities and other partners.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to translate legal risk into practical guidance for scientists, researchers, and business partners.
• A low-ego, high-empathy orientation; a doer attitude; willingness to roll up sleeves and contribute where needed.
• Curiosity about AI and science and a commitment to responsible AI development.

Nice to have

• 10+ years of patent experience, including time as a patent agent, technical specialist, or examiner, at a law firm, biotech or pharmaceutical company, or both, with the ability to work independently.
• Advanced degree in life sciences or chemistry.
• Experience with AI/ML companies or inventions at the intersection of biology and machine learning.
• Working knowledge of patent interactions with regulatory exclusivity, trade secrets, and open science.
• Familiarity with biosecurity, dual-use research, or export control considerations in life sciences.
• Experience using AI to optimize legal work.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative research environment focused on large-scale AI research and long-term impact.
• Frequent research discussions and close collaboration across research, legal, communications, and business functions.
• Competitive compensation, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, and flexible working hours.
• Office-based collaboration with a flexible hybrid policy.
• Visa sponsorship may be available, with reasonable efforts and immigration-lawyer support for eligible offers.