Senior Director, Intellectual Property (IP) (SSF, CA) presso Kardigan

Position Title: Senior Director, Intellectual Property (IP) 

Department: Legal 

Reports To: VP, Intellectual Property 

Location: South San Francisco, CA or Princeton, NJ – On-site 4 days per week (Mon to Thurs) 

Job Overview 

The Senior Director of Intellectual Property (IP) is a highly experienced, strategic, and driven intellectual property attorney who can provide advice and counseling to the business on a broad range of scientific and IP legal issues. This key member of the legal team will report to the Vice President, Intellectual Property and will be responsible for providing IP legal support to a number of different programs at various stages of development. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of patent law, Orange Book listings, ANDA litigation and bring creative and strategic approaches to protecting Kardigan’s efforts. This is an exciting opportunity to take ownership of IP strategy for a late-stage program through potential launch, while also driving IP strategy for early-stage research — providing a rare chance to independently manage the full lifecycle of innovation from discovery through commercialization. 

This position reports to the Vice President of Intellectual Property, based in South San Francisco, CA. The role has one opening and may be located in either our Princeton, NJ office or our South San Francisco, CA office.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

• Conceptualize, develop, implement, and manage intellectual property portfolio strategies worldwide to maximize value and utility of IP assets for current and future commercial assets 

• Independently provide expert IP advice to senior scientific and business leaders and demonstrate thoughtful risk management in decision making 

• Responsible for identifying preparation of patent applications, patent prosecution, and annual patent portfolio management to ensure the efficient use of our resources 

• Collaborate with various functions within Kardigan to foster a science-driven and innovative environment that ensures that IP is effectively identified, captured, and filed 

• Oversee strategies for addressing competitor IP, including administrative proceedings such as oppositions, post-grant reviews, inter-partes reviews, and re-examinations. 

• Provide IP transactional support for business transactions, clinical agreements, collaborative research agreements, and license and acquisition agreements. 

• Manage the relationships and agreements with external legal counsel, and vendors 

• Serve as the lead IP counsel for one of Kardigan’s late-stage programs, overseeing strategy through potential regulatory approval and commercial launch 

• Take primary responsibility for IP strategy supporting early-stage research, ensuring that innovation is protected and positioned for long-term value creation 

Qualifications and Preferred Skills 

• Advanced degree in chemical sciences with synthetic laboratory experience is required (Ph.D. organic chemistry is beneficial) 

• Law degree from an ABA-accredited law school 

• Admitted to the bar of at least one U.S. State or the District of Columbia 

• Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 

• 8-10+ years of professional legal experience as a patent professional (e.g., patent agent or patent attorney, etc.) 

• Prior experiences as a member of an in-house legal team in a pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, or biotechnology company, including management of complex patent portfolio and pharmaceutical product support. 

• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to convey complex IP issues to senior leadership and manage external counsel and partners 

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment 

• Proactive and results-driven, anticipating IP risks and opportunities to support business goals 

• Detailed-oriented with excellent organizational skills, able to manage complex IP portfolios and projects effectively 

• Understands and supports a “patient-first” mentality