Associate Patent Examiner

Job Title: Associate Patent Examiner (Patent Search, Examination and Analytics), IPOS International

IPOS International, a wholly‐owned subsidiary of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, aims to catalyse industry and enterprise growth by providing IP expertise. To achieve this, we will offer committed and passionate individuals a place where their talent and opinions are valued. To succeed as an organisation, we believe in empowering individuals while working as a team of professionals with honesty and displaying integrity as core values.We invest heavily in our people so that they get the training and development they need to succeed.

How you can contribute and benefit

Reporting to the Division Lead, you will join a team of highly skilled and talented professionals to help enterprises innovate and grow by ensuring the grant of high-quality patents.

This position requires you to apply scientific and technical knowledge to the concepts of patent law. You will be required to assess whether an invention is new and judge whether the invention has a technical and legal basis to be granted a patent in Singapore.

Job Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

• Analyse patent applications and identify technical concepts relating to an invention
• Conduct searches of the state-of-the-art using specialised databases to investigate whether an invention is new
• Conduct substantive examination to ensure an invention complies with patentability criteria required for a patent to be granted
• Communicate with applicants or their patent agents through written opinions to present examination outcomes
• Consider submissions filed in response to written opinions to advance the prosecution, conducting interviews with applicants or their patent agents to clarify positions where necessary

General Responsibilities

• Interpret patent law and apply guidelines in the examination of patent applications
• Assess patent applications within area of technical expertise and areas at the periphery
• Formulate search strategies for uncovering prior art documents in a cost-efficient manner
• Communicate, in writing and verbally, technical and legal arguments, to facilitate prosecution
• Discuss and offer technical expertise to peers for inventions that cut across technological domains
• Keep pace with technological developments

Are you the one? Please write to us if you have/are:

• A strong foundation in science or engineering
• Strong analytical and reasoning skills
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally
• Driven to excel and meet challenges
• Constantly curious, enjoy learning and applying new skills
• Strong interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and a team player who can be part of a network of technical experts

In particular, we are looking for someone to join our team with:

• At least a good class Honours degree in Science or Engineering
• Familiarity in the one of the following specialised fields will be a plus:

- Immunology or in biotechnology with a focus on protein Engineering or

- Wireless communication and audio video coding standards such as 3GPP, IEEE or

- Organic chemistry or polymers or

- Semiconductor memory devices, Mechanical or Civil Engineering

• Experience in patent prosecution or completion of Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management/Master of IP and Innovation Management would be an advantage.

Successful candidates will go through a structured training programme in patent law and patent search and examination. You will have opportunities to attend professional training courses and seminars to keep pace with the latest developments in your technical field.

To apply for this position, please email your CV to careers@iposinternational.com