Technology Transfer Associate

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

The successful candidate will perform a broad range of technical and business functions related to patenting and licensing of inventions created at Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The ideal candidate will have strong technical skills combined with business acumen and be familiar with the fundamental principles of intellectual property. In addition, the successful candidate must be self-directed and comfortable in a fast-paced environment characterized by a high degree of ambiguity and uncertainty.

• Confer with inventors to understand and evaluate the commercial potential of inventions.
• Participate in patent filing decisions and manage external attorneys during patent prosecution and maintenance of the Caltech/JPL patent portfolio.
• Formulate and negotiate license and other agreements relating to intellectual property (e.g., non-disclosure agreements, inter-institutional agreements, collaboration agreements, material transfer agreements) between the Institute and external (for-profit corporations and non-profit) entities.
• Monitor and maintain existing license agreements.
• Advise other campus offices (e.g., Office of Sponsored Research, Office of General Counsel) on issues relating to intellectual property.
• Liaise with entrepreneurs, VCs, and alumni to maintain and expand Caltech's external network of early-stage technology investors and advisors.
• Advise Caltech entrepreneurs on available options for start-up companies and assist/counsel entrepreneurs during startup formation.
• Review, evaluate, and provide recommendations on technologies under consideration for support under Caltech's Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI2) program, Caltech Seed Fund, and the Caltech Innovation Center.
• Provide support and mentoring for student entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Carry out ad-hoc projects as needed, including tasks related to Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) operations, finances, marketing materials, corporate partnership objectives, etc.

• Master's degree or higher.
• Ability to comfortably communicate and establish and maintain positive working relationships with people as varied as top scientists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, attorneys, CEOs, and other business people.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong negotiating skills; ability to understand constraints of deal stakeholders (faculty, licensees, etc.) and successfully map an overall strategy to ensure successful deal outcomes.
• Ability to excel in an unstructured work environment with minimal management oversight.
• Comfort with ambiguity, autonomous decision-making, and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to grasp inventions in a wide range of fields outside own area of technical expertise.

• Master's or higher in an engineering discipline, physics, biology, or chemistry.
• Previous business experience at a start-up company, in venture capital, or industry.
• Registered patent agent or willing to take the patent bar examination.

• Resume
• Cover Letter