Corporate - Legal

Job summary

The Senior Manager - Patents is responsible for managing and advancing Cognizants global patent program. The role combines patent strategy invention evaluation and harvesting portfolio development prosecution oversight governance operations and business advisory responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Patent strategy and portfolio development: Develop and implement patent strategies aligned with technology priorities innovation roadmaps business objectives competitive positioning and commercialization plans build and periodically rationalize a high-quality global patent portfolio.
• Invention identification and harvesting: Partner with business engineering research innovation delivery and product teams to identify patentable innovations conduct harvesting sessions inventor interviews workshops and awareness programs.
• Patentability and prior-art review: Evaluate invention disclosures for patentability technical completeness business relevance ownership inventorship and urgency conduct or supervise searches and prepare decision-oriented recommendations.
• Patent Committee and governance: Manage the end-to-end governance process prepare decision-ready materials track approvals and conditions escalate time-sensitive matters and maintain auditable evaluation and filing records.
• Drafting filing and prosecution: Oversee drafting filing prosecution grant validation maintenance and renewals across relevant jurisdictions review specifications claims office actions and prosecution strategies with counsel and inventors.
• Ownership inventorship and collaborative innovation: Advise on employee client contractor academic and partner inventions review relevant agreements and structure assignments declarations licences and cooperation obligations.
• Outside counsel and budget management: Manage patent firms search vendors foreign associates annuity providers and other service providers review budgets estimates invoices performance staffing and fee arrangements.
• Patent operations systems and compliance: Ensure accurate records reliable docketing documented SOPs templates checklists dashboards and audit evidence support continuous improvement and compliance with confidentiality privilege security retention and data governance requirements.
• Artificial intelligence and emerging patent issues: Advise on AI-assisted and AI-enabled innovation human contribution inventorship confidentiality searching and drafting monitor software-patent and computer-implemented-invention developments and train stakeholders on responsible AI use.
• Stakeholder partnership and business advisory: Act as a trusted advisor to technology research innovation product business and Legal stakeholders translate complex patent issues into clear proportionate and commercially oriented recommendations.
• Team leadership: Lead coach and develop 2-3 patent and IP professionals allocate work review legal and technical analysis set service standards and quality controls and promote knowledge sharing and succession planning.

Certifications Required

Bachelors degree in engineering computer science information technology electronics telecommunications data science or another technical discipline.

Law degree