Senior Counsel, Patent Strategy

The Community You Will Join: 

Airbnb's Legal team embodies the company's innovative, forward-thinking spirit. At the frontier of the new sharing economy, Airbnb is breaking new ground in matters of policy, law, and government relations. Where some see obstacles, we see the opportunity to find creative, practical solutions. Our legal team is committed to building a group of talented, collaborative and self-motivated legal professionals across the globe who believe in Airbnb's mission and leading as a 21st century company.

The Difference You Will Make:

Airbnb is seeking a highly qualified, experienced IP attorney for our risk and regulatory group. The Senior Counsel, Patent Strategy, will report to Airbnb’s Associate General Counsel, Global Risk and Regulatory. This role will be the primary liaison between Airbnb and outside patent prosecution counsel, and will include counseling on strategic IP issues in both prosecution and litigation contexts. This job is for you if you work well with business people, have an upbeat and positive attitude, embrace adventure, and thrive in collaborative environments. Where some see obstacles, you see opportunities to find creative, practical solutions that advance Airbnb’s global mission.  You enjoy building connections across departments, developing innovative IP strategies, and evangelizing about patent protection. You seize every opportunity to champion and promote the design and technical innovations of your global colleagues.

A Typical Day: 

• Manage and maintain our global patent portfolio, including invention identification and harvesting, invention disclosure meetings, portfolio mining, and preparation of patent applications.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with outside prosecution counsel.
• Develop a deep knowledge of the company’s existing and planned products, business activities and R&D; and, of relevant industry and litigation trends, best practices, and laws and regulations.
• Collaborate with legal and business professionals to identify and protect product-differentiating and competitive assets.
• Improve processes for coordinating and reporting on patent prosecution matters globally.
• Help to manage global budgets for all patent prosecution work around the world.
• Offer expert technical and legal analysis in patent-related disputes.
• Assess claims involving IP rights by and against third parties, as appropriate.
• Devise processes and procedures to help support a rapidly growing, global business. 
• Train and educate engineering, product and design teams worldwide about patents.

Your Expertise:

• J.D. from an accredited law school and strong academic credentials. 
• Licensed attorney with 10-15+ years of significant patent prosecution and patent strategy experience. 
• Significant experience with both design and utility patent prosecution strongly preferred.
• Experience at or representing technology companies strongly preferred.
• IP litigation experience preferred.
• Licensed attorney in good standing of the bar of at least one U.S. state or territory; California bar admission preferred.  
• Member of the patent bar.
• Demonstrated record of successfully managing significant aspects of complex IP portfolios. 
• Highly motivated, efficient, and organized.
• Able to juggle multiple projects at a time in a fast-paced environment, both collaborating as part of a team and working independently. 
• Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal. 
• Ability to advocate for a position while maintaining an open-minded approach. 
• Attention to details and comfort with ambiguity. 
• Passion for travel, home sharing, and the Airbnb community. 
• Good sense of humor, disdain for drama, and desire to get things done.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The starting base pay for this role is between $195,000 and $245,000. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.  

Your Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application,, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. 

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.